Algerian singer Reda Taliani arrested in Morocco after suspected drunk-driving crash

Algerian raï singer Reda Taliani was arrested Thursday night in the Moroccan city of Mohammedia after allegedly causing a traffic accident while driving under the influence of alcohol, according to local Hespress AR sources.

Sources told Hespress English that the incident prompted the intervention of officers from the Anti-Gang Brigade and the traffic police after the singer allegedly refused to comply with officers’ requests and declined to hand over his driving documents.

According to the sources, Taliani appeared visibly disoriented following the crash and remained largely silent during the initial stages of the police intervention, refusing to cooperate as officers secured the scene, documented the damage and began investigating the circumstances of the accident.

A passenger traveling with the singer was transported by ambulance to Moulay Abdellah Provincial Hospital for medical treatment.

Taliani, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital in a police vehicle after reportedly refusing to travel by ambulance.

After receiving medical treatment and undergoing the necessary examinations, he was transferred to the judicial police headquarters, where he was placed in police custody on the orders of the competent public prosecutor pending further investigation.

Police searching the vehicle reportedly seized several bottles of alcoholic beverages.

The singer remains under investigation by the judicial police under the supervision of the public prosecutor’s office. He is expected to appear before prosecutors on Saturday, who will decide whether to prosecute him while in custody or release him pending trial.

According to the sources, this is not Taliani’s first encounter with Moroccan authorities.

In 2020, he was arrested in Mohammedia after allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, causing a traffic accident that resulted in property damage and verbally assaulting another road user.