The local prison administration in Ain Sebaa, Casablanca, has refuted allegations that two attempts have been made on the life of detained Malian national, Hadj Ahmed Ben Ibrahim, while in prison in connection with an ongoing drug trafficking case against him, according to a statement issued on Monday.
Addressing claims by various national and foreign media outlets concerning two alleged assassination attempts, the prison administration asserted that Ben Ibrahim “has never been the target of any murder or assault attempts by anyone,” and that “all allegations in this regard are unfounded.”
The named inmate has never filed a complaint with the prison administration about any alleged murder or assault attempts against him, according to the prison statement, which also asserted that he enjoys all the legally permitted rights that any other inmate in the facility has.
Ben Ibrahim, known as the Malian or Sahara Escobar, is alleged to be a drug baron who ran a multimillion-dollar drug trafficking ring that spanned numerous African and Latin American countries. Also convicted for being involved in money laundering by purchasing properties and real estate around the areas where he operated his illegal business, he was apprehended at Casablanca airport in 2019, tried, and sentenced to more than ten years in an El Jadida prison.
The drug baron is believed to have built connections in Latin America and West Africa, seizing control of the drug production and distribution chain that stretched over Bolivia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Mali, and Niger.