Police arrested two more suspects in Berrechid on Monday in connection with the double murder in Forest 33 near Benslimane, taking the number of people detained in the murder investigation to three in two days.
The arrests came less than 24 hours after a 28-year-old principal suspect was picked up near Ouezzane on Sunday.
Officers of the National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ) detained the two suspects around midday following intelligence provided by the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST).
Read also : Forest 33: Benslimane double murder suspect nabbed near Ouezzane
The pair were identified during an investigation into the fatal shooting of two people with a hunting rifle in a wooded area near El Mansouria, where police are also probing suspected drug-trafficking activities.
The BNPJ and Royal Gendarmerie had launched a joint investigation on the instructions of the public prosecutor’s office, combining technical enquiries with searches on the ground.
The two latest suspects are believed to have taken part in the events under investigation. Their precise roles have yet to be established.
All three suspects are being investigated under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office as officers seek to establish the circumstances of the killings and track down others suspected of involvement.
Security forces have meanwhile kept several entrances and access roads to Forest 33 closed as searches continue across the wooded area.
Poursuite des opérations de ratissage dans la forêt 33 aux environs de Mohammedia. (S.Kadry/Le360). . سعيد قدري
The operation was stepped up after investigators uncovered evidence pointing to illicit activities in the forest over several months, including the suspected consumption and distribution of hard drugs.
Benslimane Governor El Hassan Boukouta is overseeing the operation through a security coordination unit, while the Interior Ministry has been monitoring the case for the past week.
Further searches are planned in the forest and surrounding areas in the coming hours.
