Terrorism and the drug trade

Qaeda offers logistic aid to transport drugs through Africa

Drug lords & Qaeda are trade allies in Morocco

Moroccan investigations have revealed that the terrorist network al-Qaeda is aiding international drug cartels in securing logistics in the Northern African country to export drugs to Europe.

On Friday, Morocco’s Interior Minister, Taib Cherkaoui, revealed details of the relationship between al-Qaeda and drug cartels, which he described as “obvious”. The interior ministry’s recently cracked down on a group with 34 members involved in selling drugs.

“Through security investigation, it has been found that there are direct relations between international drug networks and al-Qaeda, and they use Moroccan’s desert and coast as a base for their operations,” Cherkaoui said.

He also added that the drug lords are mainly from Colombia, Venezuela and Spain and have a “good” relationship with al-Qaeda in the North African country.

600 kg of cocaine in six months

After investigating of the arrested drug group, the ministry found that they were successful in making eight smuggling operations that carried up to 60 kilograms of cocaine between March and August in 2010.

The cocaine had been transported to Morocco via the country’s land borders with Algeria and Mauritania.

Moroccan authorities confiscated the group’s cocaine as well as unknown amounts of a liquid drug called al-shira, a few cars, tear gas and cash.

According to Moroccan authorities, the investigations also revealed that the arrested members of the drug network were running a phony company solely for the purpose of laundering money.

Ongoing relation

During a press conference in Rabat, Cherkaoui said that there is a continuous relationship between Islamist terrorist networks and drug dealers.

Qaeda is able to funnel its activities in the region via trade relations with drug barons, he added.

He also said that the Latin American drug dealers particularly from Colombia and Venezuela, store the drugs in al-Qaeda controlled northern Mali.

The safeguarding of the route by terrorist cells, allows the drug cargo to travel safely to Mauritania, and then on to Algeria before entering Morocco where it can be sold. And from Morocco the drugs are later exported into Europe.

Cherkaoui said that al-Qaeda utilizes it members’ knowledge of the rugged desert terrain, ownership of weapons and various transport mediums to give logistic security to transport drugs in Morocco’s coast and desert region.

He called for regional and international cooperation to fight the alliance between al-Qaeda and the drug lords, and warned of a rising danger in certain regions of Morocco, saying mafia-like violence can occur if drug dealers and al-Qaeda interests cross at odds with each other.

Remember those anti war types who said the Islamists would never work with non Islamists groups?