20101015
africanews

Thirty four individuals were arrested in Morocco on Friday after the police dismantled an international drug trafficking ring bringing cocaine and marijuana from South America to Africa and on to Europe. Government spokesperson Taieb Cherqaoui at a news conference in Rabat confirmed the arrest, which included a Spaniard who led the group out of Morocco.

Cherqaoui said the ring had ties with al-Qaida's North African affiliate, known as AQIM, as well as Latin American drug cartels, AP said.

The group had smuggled 600 kilograms of cocaine into Morocco between March and August of this year, according government sources.

The drugs were brought from Colombia and Venezuela to Africa, stored in northern Mali, and then taken through the desert to markets in Morocco and Europe.