A key witness in the ongoing trial of notorious international drug trafficker Ahmed Ben Ibrahim, known as the “Escobar of the Sahara,” has revealed new details about the suspect’s past relationship with Moroccan singer Latifa Raafat, describing her as a barrier between Ben Ibrahim and his political associates.
Raafat, who had been summoned as a witness, appeared Thursday at the courthouse in Rabat but did not enter the courtroom. Her name has been repeatedly mentioned in the high-profile case involving former Wydad Casablanca football club president Said Naciri and former Oriental Region president Abdelnabi Bioui, both facing charges related to Ben Ibrahim’s criminal network.
According to witness Toufik Z., Raafat, who was married to Ben Ibrahim during a period when he lived in her Rabat residence before moving to a villa in Casablanca’s upscale California neighborhood, played a major role in distancing him from his alleged associates.
“She was a moral woman. I never saw her with a cigarette or a drink,” the witness told the court. “After she moved into the villa, she cleaned it up, it wasn’t like before.”
The witness claimed that Raafat opposed wild parties and tried to impose a more conservative lifestyle on Ben Ibrahim, whom she reportedly referred to as “El-Hajja.” Despite her efforts, Ben Ibrahim continued what the witness called his “beautiful life” of excess and socializing.
In a troubling incident described in court, Raafat was allegedly assaulted one night by her husband when he returned home drunk. She reportedly insisted only on a divorce and left the villa soon afterward.
Following their separation, the witness said Ben Ibrahim and his entourage threw what they called a “victory party.” He recalled a moment when a large speaker was brought in, and Said Naciri played Saad Lamjarred’s hit song “Enty Bagha Wahad” from his car, dancing in celebration of the divorce.
The witness emphasized again that Raafat had served as a major obstacle to private meetings between Ben Ibrahim and the two politicians.
The testimony also shed light on Ben Ibrahim’s lifestyle during his incarceration in Mauritania. According to the witness, visits to the Nouadhibou prison revealed a surprisingly comfortable setting. “It didn’t feel like a prison at all. He was living in a well-appointed space and received visitors warmly,” he said.
The witness also testified that in 2019, Ben Ibrahim called him from El Jadida prison after being sentenced to ten years in Morocco. He asked the witness to reach out to Naciri and Bioui to demand what he called his “dues.”
Describing the nature of Ben Ibrahim’s relationships with the two men, the witness noted that while Bioui’s visits were brief, Naciri would spend significant amounts of time with the drug trafficker. “Naciri would stay much longer. Bioui would come, spend maybe half an hour, and leave,” he said.
The revelations come as the trial continues to captivate national attention, intertwining celebrity, politics, and one of Morocco’s largest drug trafficking investigations in recent memory.
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