Morocco: synthetic drugs and cannabis at the heart of cross-border trafficking
Morocco has become a centre of production for synthetic drugs and cannabis, with clandestine laboratories and profits exceeding 100 million euros per year.
Cannabis, cocaine and psychotropic substances: the rise of organised drug trafficking in Morocco
According to al24news.dz, Morocco is now at the centre of a network of drug trafficking undergoing profound transformation, combining cannabis production, cocaine processing and local manufacture of psychotropic substances from diverted medicines.
A cocaine laboratory since 2016
The international research network Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime reported the existence, since 2016, of a cocaine processing laboratory in Oujda. This laboratory is said to have processed 250 kilogrammes of refined cocaine in that same year.
"Boufa", a cheap expanding drug
Emerging in Morocco from 2020, "Boufa"—nicknamed the "cocaine of the poor"—is manufactured from cocaine residue, chemical products and medicines. Its expansion has been notable since its emergence.
More than four million tablets seized
Moroccan authorities announced in January 2026 the seizure of more than four million psychotropic tablets manufactured locally over the past three years. For 2025 alone, seizures amounted to more than 1.6 million tablets.
The "Karkoubi" network dismantled in Spain
In January 2022, Spanish police dismantled an international criminal network specialising in the trafficking of medicines destined for the manufacture of "Karkoubi" in Morocco. The operation led to the seizure of 200,000 psychotropic tablets in Spain, for a total of seizures exceeding 500,000 tablets.
Spanish medicines at the heart of the circuit
Spanish radio-television (RTVE) clarified that "Karkoubi" is manufactured in Morocco from medicines originating in Spain, notably products used in the treatment of epilepsy. An investigation published in 2024 by Spanish newspaper El País revealed that Spain commercialises nearly four million boxes of Rivotril each year, part of these quantities feeding illegal circuits before being transformed into drugs in Morocco.
Profits estimated at more than 100 million euros per year
El País, citing estimates from Spanish police, indicated that organised Moroccan criminal groups would draw annual profits exceeding 100 million euros from these activities.
Operation of June 2025
In June 2025, Spanish police dismantled a network operating between Morocco and Spain. The operation resulted in the seizure of 10,800 tablets of clonazepam and 22 kilogrammes of cannabis.
An extended geographical footprint
Activities of preparation, storage and commercialisation are associated with several Moroccan cities: Casablanca, Rabat, Fès, Tangier, Settat, El Jadida and Khouribga, as well as the localities of Daroua, Lahraouiyine, Mediouna, Errahma and Bouskoura.
From simple trafficking to a cross-border organisation
These data reflect a structural evolution: what once amounted to conventional drug trafficking has been transformed into a cross-border organisation integrating cocaine processing, psychotropic substance manufacture, diversion of medicines, as well as their storage, distribution and conveyance via networks operating beyond national borders.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)