Morocco’s National Customs Brigade has launched a sweeping investigation into the smuggling and clandestine production of banned plastic bags, uncovering sophisticated underground operations powered by newly imported Chinese machinery.
According to well-informed sources, these machines have been trafficked into the country and installed in secret workshops, often hidden in garages across residential neighborhoods in major cities — with Casablanca emerging as the epicenter.
Intelligence gathered by the Customs Vigilance and Risk Management Unit aligns with recent data from the Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes, which had been tracking a shift in operations by illegal plastic bag networks.
With increasing enforcement pressure on large storage depots in urban peripheries, these networks have reportedly transitioned to more discreet, small-scale production units embedded within city neighborhoods.
Field investigations, conducted in coordination with environmental police units and Casablanca-Settat’s regional utility services, focused on specific zones in the suburban provinces of Médiouna and Berrechid. Teams were able to pinpoint multiple illegal production sites, particularly in areas such as Tit Mellil, Sidi Hajjaj Ouled Hssar, Ouled Ziane, and Daroua.
Key to the discovery was an analysis of electricity consumption patterns, which revealed unusual spikes in energy use in locked commercial premises not registered with local administrative authorities.
The newly deployed machines, reportedly compact, fast, and quiet, allow for rapid manufacturing of large quantities of plastic bags in various sizes. Investigators also traced the supply chains for critical raw materials: polyethylene — the main component of plastic bag production — and the “charge” agent used to prevent bags from sticking during manufacturing.
These substances are subject to import authorization and customs oversight, and their presence in unlicensed facilities signals serious regulatory breaches.
Further inquiries uncovered an expanding network dedicated to producing small- and medium-sized plastic bags, especially white ones, distributed to formal and informal commercial outlets in Casablanca and nearby cities. These goods are often delivered through pre-orders in reduced quantities to avoid detection at intercity checkpoints and obscure their origins.
Parallel to the customs probe, Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has activated a tracking system designed to monitor the flow of raw materials. This move follows recent raids that dismantled several illegal plastic bag workshops in Casablanca, resulting in the seizure of significant quantities of polyethylene. The tracking system helped identify the sources of some of these materials, which are under import licensing regulations introduced in December 2016 to prevent their diversion into banned production.
Authorities have also discovered that some manufacturers, faced with soaring raw polyethylene prices and dwindling supply, have turned to recycled materials to sustain production.
This shift has come under scrutiny, especially after illegal storage sites in Casablanca’s outskirts — including Bouskoura, Dar Bouazza, Ouled Saleh, Lahraouiyine, and Al Majatia Ouled Taleb — were demolished during recent crackdowns on unauthorized facilities.
These findings add urgency to enforcement efforts surrounding Law No. 77.15, which prohibits the production, marketing, and use of plastic bags in Morocco. As the investigation deepens, authorities continue to unravel the complex web sustaining the illegal plastic bag economy, determined to enforce the ban and uphold environmental protections.
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