The investigation into the fatal methanol poisoning incident in Sidi Allal Tazi has led to the arrest of more suspects, bringing the total to 12. The suspects appeared before an investigating judge today.
The arrests follow a tragic series of events in which a batch of ad hoc Mahia alcohol was contaminated with a toxic level of methanol, resulting in the deaths of 16 people and hospitalizing at least 100 others.
Four other individuals appeared last Sunday before the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Kenitra. They are being prosecuted while out on bail, reported SNRT News.
Seven of the newly arrested suspects are in pre-trial detention, including the main suspect who was apprehended in a village near the city of Khemisset, according to SNRT News, citing sources from the Royal Gendarmerie.
The suspects were arrested by the National Judicial Investigation Brigade of the Royal Gendarmerie.
The report added that the main suspect is notorious in the region and has a criminal record related to the sale of drugs and homemade Mahia alcohol. He operates in various villages with the help of numerous “garraba” (distilleries).
Meanwhile, authorities are searching for another suspect who allegedly supplied the methanol from another city.
The latest statement from the Regional Directorate of Health and Social Protection in the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region reported that between 6:00 PM on Monday, June 3, and 8:00 PM on Wednesday, June 4, 114 cases of methanol poisoning were recorded in Sidi Allal Tazi. This was further confirmed by the Moroccan Poison Control and Pharmacovigilance Center in Rabat.
Morocco World News
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