The primary criminal court at the Court of Appeal in Fes, presided over by Judge Haida, has delivered its verdict on the notorious case involving the "Municipal Garage of Oujda". This case implicated 19 individuals on charges related to the embezzlement and misappropriation of both public and private funds, forgery, as well as the theft and dismantling of vehicles and motorcycles.
After rejecting all procedural defenses presented by the accused, the court handed down a five-year prison sentence to M.L., who was identified as the leader of the criminal network, alongside a hefty fine of 50,000 dirhams. Co-defendants Z.L. and M.A. received four years of imprisonment each, with fines of 40,000 dirhams and 50,000 dirhams respectively. Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of a firearm found in possession of M.A. for the benefit of national defense.
In a related ruling, the court sentenced A.S. to three years in prison and a fine of 30,000 dirhams for his involvement, whereas M.K., a public servant, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison along with a fine of 30,000 dirhams after the charges against him were requalified.
The court also sentenced A.R. and S.S. to two years in prison each, with fines of 20,000 dirhams. Other individuals, including A.K., R.K., H.S., Y.M., A.M., and A.K., received sentences of one and a half years in prison, facing fines that varied between 10,000 and 30,000 dirhams.
Furthermore, I.H., A.N., and S.L. were each given a one-year prison sentence along with a fine of 10,000 dirhams. M.H. and B.B. received six-month prison terms and fines of 500 dirhams each, while M.A.R. was sentenced to four months in prison with a similar fine.
The court mandated that legal repercussions be enforced regarding the confiscated items, ordering the seizure of parts from illegal vehicles for the benefit of state property, while returning lawful phones, vehicles, and financial amounts to their rightful owners.
On the civil side, the court held the convicted individuals accountable for the financial losses incurred from their criminal activities. M.L. and Z.L. were ordered to pay a joint compensation to the municipality of Oujda amounting to 511,150 dirhams, representing the difference between collected and deposited funds.
All nineteen defendants were collectively mandated to pay total compensatory damages of 2,132,500 dirhams to the civil claimants, a figure that corresponds to the estimated value of the embezzled and misappropriated vehicles, with the minimum coercive measures set for enforcement.
After the pronouncement of the sentences, the presiding judge informed the convicted parties that they have a ten-day window to appeal the court's decision.
The thorough technical and field investigations conducted by the regional judicial police in Fes led to the dismantling of this organized network, which was led by the director of the municipal garage in Oujda. The investigations revealed significant discrepancies between the records of the Oujda Security Directorate and the official registry of the municipality, where a considerable number of vehicles entering the garage were unregistered. This deliberate oversight aimed to conceal their theft and subsequent disposal, resulting in direct embezzlement exceeding 100,000 dirhams in collection fees, in addition to an estimated value of missing vehicles ranging between 2.17 million and 2.5 million dirhams.
During the investigative stages, the mastermind of the network admitted to the details of the criminal scheme, confirming his role in distributing tasks among the members of the organization and his efforts to obscure the nature of the committed crimes, benefiting from a network of relationships that enabled him to track the judicial files concerning the seized vehicles, thus facilitating their embezzlement and resale or dismantling.
As reported by nadorcity.com.
