The authorities have launched a massive surveillance operation of the cannabis fields in the northern area of Ketama using drones in order to control the evolution of the cannabis production.

 State-of-art drones have been deployed by the authorities to keep the cannabis fields and production under its watch, state the Moroccan Arabic-language news source Al-Ahdath Al-Maghribiya.

Drones are currently utilized by the authorities in numerous operations, but this is the first time they are used in monitoring the crops of cannabis in northern Morocco. The drones’ missions are to take high quality photos and footage of cannabis fields in order help the authorities “identify” them and control their evolution.

The same source explains that the use of the drone technology will facilitate the control of these areas, especially that the authorities had a great deal of difficulty with the barons of cannabis trafficking throughout the surveillance operations.

Cannabis is the most significant source of income for the areas of Chefchaouen, Larache and Ketama in the north of Morocco, with a massive production that makes Morocco at the top of cannabis producing countries globally.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Morocco supplies 70% of the European market and produces a total of 37,703 tons (2017).