Israeli arrested in Morocco for suspected forgery

By Khaled Majdoub

RABAT, Morocco (AA) - The Moroccan security said on Monday that it has arrested an Israeli over suspected links to a criminal network specialized in ID and passport counterfeiting.

The Moroccan General Directorate of National Security said in a statement that the judicial police arrested on Friday a 52-year-old foreign citizen who held an Israeli passport.

The Moroccan security said that the arrest came over a suspicion of being involved in a criminal network engaged in counterfeiting and forging Moroccan IDs and passports which was dismantled in March upon information from Moroccan intelligence.

According to the statement, the individual was suspected of having obtained a Moroccan ID and passport using false documents via the services of the dismantled network.

"After checking the International Criminal Police Organization’s (INTERPOL) database, the Moroccan police discovered that the suspect was the subject of an international arrest warrant under a red notice issued by the Interpol, on 17 January 2019, over suspicion of being involved in several murders as well as an attempted murder in settling accounts between the organized crime networks" read the statement.

In March, the Moroccan authorities said it arrested 15 people over the suspicion of involvement in forging Moroccan official documents for the benefit of Israelis 'of Moroccan origins'.

Also in April, the Moroccan security announced the arrest of two Israelis in Marrakech on suspicion of possibly being linked to the Moroccan IDs-forging criminal network.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara