Moufide Bouchibi is suspected of being one of the largest French cannabis traffickers. On the run for more than 10 years, the man was arrested in a hotel residence in Dubaï on the 21st of March.
Raised in Essonne where he started trafficking as a small dealer, Moufide Bouchibi quickly became the main supplier of hashish to the French market. The cartel leader is related to Sofiane Hambli, number one of drug traffic for a long time in France. After the arrest of its mentor, Moufide Bouchibi started to play solo.
Since the early 2000s, he had specialized in the “go fast”, bringing drugs from North Africa to Spain by boat, before bringing them to France by car, through the A75.
The police of Dubai made an epic video of the arrest of who they called the “ French drug lord, the ghost”. The video looks like an American spy movie where you find various CCTV footage of Moufide Bouchibi walking around Dubai.
According to Brigadier Jamal Salem Al-Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation (CID), Bouchibi imported 60 tonnes of drugs to Europe every year with an estimated annual street value of 70 million euros ($82.6m). “In 2015, the Bordeaux Court sentenced Bouchibi to 20 years,” he said.
The man entered Dubaï with a false identity, shortly after they received Interpol’s red notice against him. “Although French detectives had only a photo of Bouchibi from more than 20 years ago, our teams were able to identify Mouf’s whereabouts by analysing available data, pictures and videos, and harnessing the latest artificial intelligence techniques available at the Criminal Data Analysis Centre,” added Al-Jallaf.
“He was hiding under several names as if he did not exist at all, which posed a great challenge to our detectives who have always shown exceptional professionalism in analysing available information and utilising the latest technologies to serve justice and track down criminals,” Al-Jallaf continued.
“As soon as our officers conclude the investigation, Bouchibi will be referred to the Public Prosecution for further legal action, and the UAE Ministry of Justice will determine the mechanism for his extradition per existing understandings and agreements with the Interpol,” Al-Jallaf concluded.
