Morocco police seize more than tonne of cocaine in major drugs swoop

Moroccan police have seized more than a tonne of cocaine destined for Europe, following a major drugs bust in the North African state.

Police swooped on a lorry and two dinghies carrying illicit cargo close to the port city of El Jadida, the official MAP news agency reported on Saturday.

Seven were arrested in the operation "for their alleged links to a transnational criminal network involved in the international trafficking of cocaine between Morocco, Latin America and Europe".

The drugs are believed to have been shipped over from South America on a commercial vessel before being transferred onto a smaller fishing boat and brought ashore in Morocco. 

Cocaine manufactured in South and Central America was commonly shipped to West African states and onto Europe.

Now smugglers appear to have found new routes through North Africa, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

In recent years, the Moroccan authorities have reported increasing cocaine seizures, including a record 2.5-tonne haul in October last year.