CRACKDOWN FAILS TO CURB MOROCCO'S DRUGS TRADE

Many depend on hashish for a living.

Ask any teenage northern Moroccan male what his future will be and he will
tell you he has three options: to escape across the sea to Europe; become a
contraband dealer; or get into the hashish trade and end up either rich or
in prison.

Mohamed, who has tried all three, is the perfect guide to Morocco's "green
gold" hashish economy.

We drive north out of Tangier along the coast before turning inland into
the foothills of the Rif mountains. At Oued Alian 50 fishermen are crowded
around a small catch. "This is one of the most important places for sending
the hashish across Spain," says Mohamed, gesturing towards the windsurfers'
paradise-town of Tarifa across the straits.

"It's like a river - very easy to cross. Of course, it's easy to get caught
too, if you don't pay the baksheesh or if the government's wanting to clean
up. Most of the big dealers are in prison now but there's a new generation
making themselves rich."

Under pressure from the European Union, in particular Spain, the Moroccan
authorities have cracked down on the 'kif' (hashish) market, but with mixed
results. The offensive began six years ago, when 10,000 troops were
stationed on the northern coast to patrol trafficking routes.

Tangier became the focus of police work and a number of drug barons were
jailed. The people of Tangier say the crackdown was too harsh.

"They have squeezed the life out of Tangier, there's no trickle-down effect
any more from the hashish trade and every sector has suffered," laments one
ex-pat. Cynics note that not all the Mister Bigs were rounded up; some
suggest that politicians' names were linked to the investigations.

The authorities admit that about 173,000 acres of land in the Rif region
are under cannabis cultivation; unofficial statistics put the figure even
higher.

"Five years ago you had to drive right into the Rif to see the
plantations," says Mohamed. "Now it's coming closer to Tangier all the
time. It was within 40km [25 miles] last year."

The October harvest was a bumper crop, yielding about 30 tonnes of
cannabis. It is a tricky problem to solve, because the government's grip on
the rebellious Berber people of the north has never been absolute.

Attempts to produce alternative cash crops have produced few results.
Cannabis fetches 10 times the price of wheat. "Without kif we would
starve," says Mohamed.

Production is therefore quietly tolerated while the authorities go after
the dealers. Three-quarters of the cannabis grown in the Rif is destined
for Europe. The Moroccans claim to have broken about 30 drugs networks in
1996-97, arresting 34 Britons, 126 Spaniards, 59 French and 25 Dutch. Those
captured were mostly couriers rather than the drug chiefs.

In a sinister development last year, six tonnes of cocaine washed up on
Morocco's shores. A Spanish-registered vessel sailing out of Southampton
had dumped its cargo after engine failure forced the Colombian crew to
shelter in Moroccan waters.

The Moroccans used the incident to support their contention that the drugs
trade is international and that Europe should not blame Morocco for all its
drug problems. "We are left to police Europe's southern shores alone," a
government official said. "European aid to combat drugs in north Morocco is
feeble, if not non-existent."