China.org.cn
Investigations into a shooting that took place in a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh have revealed links to international drug trafficking.
On Thursday, two hooded armed men opened fire in a coffee shop, leaving one person dead and two others wounded before fleeing the scene on a motorcycle.
Shortly after the shooting, investigators dismissed that the crime was a terrorist act, saying that it appeared to be a settlement of accounts.
Given the fact that the 26-year-old victim is the son of the president of the general prosecutor of an Appeal Court in Beni Mellal, revenge is likely to be the cause behind the attack.
However, things have changed when police issued their first statement, saying that six suspects had been arrested in Casablanca.
The main suspect who commissioned the murder, who is still at large, is wanted for money laundering and drug trafficking.
According to local media Le360.ma news site, the victim was not the target.
Reliable sources were quoted as saying that a Moroccan living in the Netherlands commissioned the murder of the owner of the cafe because of a dispute between the two.
News site Hespress.com said the six suspects were also involved in international drug trafficking.
On Saturday, police announced the arrest of two other Dutch nationals, aged 24 and 29, who are originally from the Dominican Republic and Surinam. The two suspects were believed to be the attackers.
The operation, in coordination with international security agencies, revealed that among the arrested were crime bosses of international drug trafficking, kidnapping, armed robbery, and attempted homicide.
The suspects entered Morocco about a week ago, and they were staying in two separate hotels, one of which is located near the cafe where the crime took place, the police pointed out.
The police also noted that an international security coordination was underway to locate and arrest the main instigator of the crime, who has turned out to be the subject of international arrest warrants issued by Morocco and another European country for his involvement in international drug trafficking and homicide.
Citing sources close to the investigations, Hespress.com news site said that he was wanted in Morocco over international drug trafficking and wanted by Spain for homicide.
