The arrest of the alleged assassin of the gendarme Achraf Marouane allowed the gendarmerie services to get their hands on a major trafficker of silver metal extracted from the Imider mine. A criminal gang specialized in the field was also arrested and 680 g of this precious metal and three cars in their possession were seized.

Furthermore, and on instructions from the prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Ouarzazate, a tourist establishment in Kelaat M’gouna was closed and three of its employees arrested for having hidden and helped the main accused in the assassination of the gendarme Achraf Marouane. On the run for four years, the suspect had found refuge in this hotel since 2011, which would have facilitated his movements after having changed his look.

The alleged assassin was finally put behind bars on Friday, May 17, 2013, in Kelaat M’gouna, after four years of investigation at the national level, following an operation carried out in coordination with a patrol of gendarmes under Tinghir.

Remember, it was February 12, 2009, when the victim, accompanied by a colleague during a traffic control mission on the main road No. 10 connecting Tinghir to Agadir and Bouaarfa, was hit by the suspect who, caught in the act of smuggling silver metal, had fled and attacked the patrol car. The driver, who was none other than the young Achraf Marouane, succumbed to his injuries, while the aggressor had taken to his heels.

The operation was triggered following information indicating the presence of the trafficker in Kelaat M’gouna during the Rose Festival. With his hair and mustache shaved, he moved discreetly, thus escaping the security services.

However, it took long-term work before arresting him. A first attempt had allowed the arrest of two other accomplices. Four years of efforts deployed allowed the gendarmerie services to arrest his assistant who took care of the errands. Realizing the serious accusations he would be facing, his sidekick finally decided to cooperate by setting an appointment with the accused. The latter ended up falling into the nets of the gendarmes in an alley in Kelaat M’gouna.

The Court of Appeal in Ouarzazate decided to refer the main accused to the military tribunal in Rabat after four interrogations at the end of which he admitted to the theft and smuggling of metals as well as the premeditated ramming of the brigade's car that was in pursuit of him on February 12, 2009, in Tinghir.