The alleged perpetrators of the intentional homicide with mutilation of the body of a police officer in Casablanca have recently become imbued with extremist thinking, and have adopted the modus operandi and tactics of individual terrorism, said Friday in Sale , the director of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), Cherkaoui Habboub.
Compensating himself during a press briefing, spent shedding light on developments in the case of intentional homicide with mutilation of the body against a police officer in the line of duty, Habboub said that the data currently available confirm that “The three suspects have lately become imbued with extremist thinking, as they have not announced their allegiance to the terrorist organization ‘Daesh’ than about a month and a half ago, which favors the hypothesis of rapid extremism, especially given their poor educational level”.
In addition, continues Habboub, one of the three individual arrested, who is the main suspect, is known for his multiple criminal records in common law crimes, the last of which dates back to 2013, when he was convicted of theft with violence, drug use and possession of knives without legitimate reason. Investigative leads have confirmed that the suspects adopted individual terrorism modus operandi and tactics to defeat their heinous crime, before they seized the handcuffs and service weapon of the victim policeman for the purpose to use it to commit a crime later, namely the robbery of a bank branch, explains the director of the BCIJ.
And to add that the investigation procedures made it possible to confirm the element of “premeditation” adopted in this terrorist project, while the respondents were precisely located the location of the targeted bank branch, carried out reconnaissance tours in its surroundings and agreed on a method of robbery in the but to use the profits from this crime to finance terrorist activities.
The director of the BCIJ confirmed the terrorist motive after the arrest of the three suspects, as indicated by the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) in its press release published on this case. According to the data provided by the investigative team, up to this stage of the investigation, the three suspects recently pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Daesh, after one of the suspects uttered what they considered to be THE “purported oath of allegiance”which was adopted and pronounced by the rest of the suspects, adds Habboub, noting that this is an indication of their involvement in a terrorist organization as part of a collective project to seriously undermine the public order.
The information currently available, added to Habboub, also indicates that the suspects planned to join the Islamic State organization in the Sahel region, before relenting on this project due to the lack of sufficient sources of funding to ensure their trip. , prompting them to adopt an alternative of carrying out local terrorist operations targeting security guards and bank branches.
Furthermore, the director of the BCIJ affirmed that it was not possible to give priority to any of the investigation hypotheses when the policeman’s body was discovered at the scene of the crime, which forced the team of investigators to Treat all possible hypotheses, including the terrorist motive hypothesis, as leads requiring further investigation, investigation and research.
“Indeed, the method of carrying out this criminal act, the method of mutilating the body, adding that the technical and scientific police processed a large collection of samples and traces necessary at the crime scene. The investigative team also downloaded and processed digital content to determine the suspects’ routes, as well as track the path taken by the victim’s car.he said.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the team of investigators from the services of the General Directorate of National Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), it was a priority to identify the first suspect and his arrest in Casablanca, before proceeding to the arrest of the two other suspects respectively in Sidi Harazem in the vicinity of Fez, and in Casablanca. Cherkaoui Habboub welcomed the strong interaction of citizens, and women, with the investigation and investigation team, noting that it is a spontaneous collaboration on the part of a large number of citizens. who reported every information, submitting their testimonies to the justice department in hopes of clarifying the truth and arresting those involved.
He also spoke of the great solidarity shown by sections of Moroccan society, who were part of their sympathy with the small family of the policeman, and with his large family represented by the institution of national security. “At this level of investigation, we can speak of a terrorist cell composed of three main suspects: the alleged emir of this terrorist cell (31 years old) and the second suspect (37 years old), who both participated in the physical execution of intentional homicide and mutilation of the victim’s body”.
As for the third suspect (50 years old), he participated effectively in modifying the traces of the crime and hiding the evidence after deliberately setting fire to the victim’s car. It can also be affirmed, adds Habboub, that the dangers of this terrorist cell have been brought under control and its threats against the safety of persons and property have been repelled, in particular after the team of investigators succeeded in recovering the weapon of serve and the five stolen balls.
The expertise carried out by the Scientific and Technical Police Laboratory confirmed that this weapon was not used and no bullet was fired by the defendants, assures Habboub. Regarding the lines of investigation adopted to clarify this heinous terrorist crime, and to apprehend the people involved, Habboub noted that it is the culmination of joint work and close coordination on the ground between the DGST and the DGSN, represented by the prefectural service of the judicial police of Casablanca, the National Brigade of the judicial police, and experts from the scientific and technical police.
The director of the BCIJ also mentioned the contribution made by the Royal Gendarmerie during the preliminary proceedings of this affair, in particular in the operations of inspection and combing of the place of discovery of the body of the victim, as well as the place where his deliberately burned and abandoned car in a rural area. He also made a point of asking the representatives of the local authority, who spared no effort to provide the necessary support and accompaniment, in order to facilitate the tasks of the search, investigation and combing teams.
In this sense, he pointed out that all the field investigation procedures, the technical and scientific expertise carried out in this case, as well as the diagnostic operations that succeeded in the arrest of the suspects, were compensated under the supervision directly from the Public Ministry in the city of Casablanca and this in the first phase of the investigation, and under the effective direction of the Public Ministry in charge of terrorism cases after the extremist and terrorist nature of this heinous crime appeared.
Cherkaoui Habboub stressed that the research procedures attributed by the competent prosecutor’s office to the BCIJ relevant to the DGST are currently continuing in coordination with the services of the DGSN, in order to identify the possible ramifications of this terrorist act, and to identify the individuals allegedly involved in the complicity or participation in the execution of this crime, in addition to elucidating all the circumstances of this despicable crime. The dismantling of this terrorist cell involved in the voluntary homicide with mutilation of the policeman’s body, recalls Habboub, coincided with an imminent terrorist project whose risks were neutralized and put in check by the security services of Safi, in close cooperation with the DGST.
This is also, notes Habboub, an extremist partisan element of “Daesh” who was arrested on Wednesday in the town of Safi, after having pledged allegiance to the alleged emir of this terrorist organization. The element is involved in the preparation of the execution of a terrorist plan as part of an individual project aimed at seriously undermining public order. The defendant was also subjected to the judicial investigation procedures designated by the Public Prosecutor at the BCIJ, to elucidate all the elements and contours of his terrorist project.