Said Naciri, former chairman of Wydad Casablanca and a senior member of Morocco’s ruling coalition, denied in court Friday that he seized a villa from jailed Malian drug trafficker Ahmed Ben Brahim, AFP reports. Naciri, who also led Casablanca’s prefectural council, insisted he acquired the property legally through a real estate firm in 2017.
Naciri and co-defendant Abdennabi Bioui, another prominent politician, are on trial for alleged involvement in a drug trafficking network spanning North Africa and the Sahel. Both men are accused of corruption, drug possession, and export offences, and have been in custody since late 2023.
Ben Brahim, known as the “Escobar of the Sahara,” is serving a 10-year sentence and claims the two officials helped him smuggle narcotics and expropriated his assets. The trial, which began in May 2024 and includes 25 defendants, resumes on April 25 in Casablanca.
Egypt and Russia have concluded their joint naval exercise, Bridge of Friendship, held over several days in the Mediterranean, according
Algeria is making headway in diversifying its economy beyond hydrocarbons, tripling non-oil exports to $5.1 billion in 2023, according
In a phone call on Saturday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II discussed the current situation in
A Tunisian court sentenced 40 individuals on Saturday, including prominent political opposition figures, lawyers, and human rights defenders, of up
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