CASABLANCA — A Moroccan court in Casablanca sentenced 29 individuals on June 25, 2026, in connection with a drug trafficking and corruption case. The sentencing included prominent politicians, sports figures, and business leaders.

The court imposed hundreds of millions of dollars in fines on the defendants and ordered the seizure of assets belonging to several of them, capped at $1 million. The bulk of these financial penalties are to be paid jointly to customs authorities by Abdennebi Bioui, Said Naciri, and Belkacem Mir. Additionally, the court mandated Bioui, Naciri, and Mir to jointly pay Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim $106,599.

Abdennebi Bioui, a construction tycoon and former lawmaker with the Authenticity and Modernity Party, received a 12-year prison sentence and a $15,989 fine. Said Naciri, another former Authenticity and Modernity Party lawmaker and former president of Wydad AC, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Belkacem Mir, also a former Authenticity and Modernity Party lawmaker and former president of a soccer club, received a 10-year prison sentence. Other defendants received prison sentences of up to nine years and fines of up to $26,649. One defendant in the case was acquitted.

As the judge announced the sentences, some defendants exclaimed, "I am innocent. I haven't done anything." Police officers intervened to restore order within the courtroom. The accused individuals had denied the allegations throughout the trial.

The trial, which lasted more than two years, heard charges that included drug and gold trafficking, corruption, forgery, and violations of exchange control regulations. The case originated from allegations made by Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim, a jailed Malian drug lord. Ben Brahim accused business associates, including senior Moroccan politicians, of involvement in drug trafficking and of seizing his assets while he was imprisoned. Police documents presented during the trial indicated that Ben Brahim accused his partners of participating in an international gold trafficking network and of confiscating his assets, which included a luxury villa, high-end apartments, and dozens of cars. Attorneys can appeal the ruling.

Morocco has legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes, and it is a major producer and exporter of hashish.