On Saturday, the Moroccan police seized 5.4 tons of cannabis in the port of Tangier Med, which was loaded into a truck to be transported to Spain , according to the General Directorate of National Security.

A statement by the directorate stated that "police elements in the Tangier Med port security area managed, in coordination with customs services, to thwart an attempt to smuggle five tons and 438 kilograms of shira (cannabis) internationally, which was loaded on a truck for international transportation of goods."

He added that preliminary investigations showed that the truck driver was trying to use "false export documents when preparing to travel to Spain."

The statement referred to the driver, "a 45-year-old Moroccan citizen", who was arrested and kept "under the measure of theoretical guard, subject to investigation."

He explained that the inspection of the truck showed that "large shipments of shira" were stored in the form of "sheets" inside "specially prepared cavities in the trailer and the internal structure of the truck."

The Kingdom of Morocco is the largest producer of cannabis in the world, according to the United Nations.

Moroccan police seized about 100 tons of cannabis in 2022, and this amount is half of what was seized in the previous year, according to an annual report by the General Directorate of National Security.

On the other hand, the General Directorate of National Security and Customs seized, in another operation, Thursday, 60 kilograms of cocaine in a refrigeration container in the port of Tangiers Med as well, according to the local police.

The drugs were "carefully wrapped inside the guts of frozen tuna fish" in a refrigerated container from Ecuador and destined for Spain via the port.

For years, the Moroccan police have been seizing large quantities of cocaine if South American cartels use the kingdom as a passage to Europe.

A judicial investigation has been opened in the case under the supervision of the competent public prosecution and in coordination with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).