Investigative Security Reports Reveal Hijjawi’s Involvement in Supporting Gerando, a Suspect in Extortion Cases
Moroccan security and judicial investigations have uncovered the strings of a complex criminal network linking former intelligence officer Mehdi Hijjawi, who was dismissed from his position, and Hicham Gerando, a TikToker facing judicial charges, within a framework of defamation, extortion, and cross-border fraud.
The investigation led by the National Judicial Police Brigade revealed an organic relationship between the two parties, which went beyond mere tactical coordination to include direct financial and logistical support. Mehdi Hijjawi, who is currently on the run abroad after his dismissal, played the role of financier and planner, while Hicham Gerando executed tasks of defamation and digital targeting against national figures and official institutions, with the aim of undermining public trust and systematically damaging the state’s image.
Documented evidence confirmed that Hijjawi provided several free international travel tickets for Gerando and his family members, facilitating his repeated travels to destinations such as Turkey and various European and Asian countries, in movements that cannot be separated from the agendas of incitement and misinformation disseminated through social media platforms.
These incidents elevate Gerando’s case to an unprecedented level of seriousness, transforming it from mere digital offenses or crimes of opinion into a sensitive security file involving collusion with a former intelligence officer possessing in-depth knowledge of the Moroccan security structure. This raises pressing questions regarding the true objectives of these actions and who is actually pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The revelations from the investigations highlight the need to develop legal and technical mechanisms to detect unconventional alliances that thrive on the weak legal regulation of the digital sphere and exploit media chaos to achieve dubious gains.
Security authorities continue their investigations to dismantle the remaining threads linked to this network, at a time when public discussions are expanding regarding the dangers of an unregulated digital space and the transformation of some influencers into paid tools within meticulous extortion operations targeting institutional stability and the credibility of national figures.
