Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This report highlights a concerning discovery by Casablanca customs officials: a surge of adulterated gold in local markets, linked to smuggling networks. The findings underscore ongoing challenges in regulating precious metals and protecting consumers.
In Casablanca, adulterated gold is flooding the market. This is the alarming finding made by customs services during a raid on jewelry stores (the kissariats of Derb Soltane) in the Al Fida Mers Sultan Prefecture, aimed at combating smuggling.
According to the daily newspaper Assabah, cited by Le360, there would be quantities of adulterated gold in a jewelry store in El Menjra, on Al Fida Boulevard, in the Al Fida Mers Sultan district of Casablanca. Indeed, smuggling networks are said to have flooded this jewelry store, still known as the “Gold Exchange” in Morocco, with counterfeit gold.
In its edition of Tuesday, July 16, 2019, the same newspaper reported that customs services arrived on Thursday, July 11, at 1:00 PM at the Kissariat of El Menjra. This marked the beginning of the inspection. Based on information received, they proceeded to verify silver metals. They then meticulously examined the ingots to confirm their origin, composition, and authenticity.
Alerted, some shopkeepers fled before the customs inspection visit. Facing the customs officers, shopkeepers were asked to present invoices for the acquisition of the various metals (gold, copper, and silver) on sale.
The customs harvest was fruitful: gold ingots of suspicious origin were detected. Only the conclusions of laboratory tests will determine their origin and the conformity of their components. For now, the same source notes, customs services are maintaining the old procedures.