Arrest of a Member of the Girando Network Involved in Transferring Extortion Money to Hicham Girando’s Mother
A new suspect has been arrested in the case involving Hicham Girando’s network, which is implicated in extortion and information defamation. Investigations revealed his involvement in transferring sums of money to Girando’s mother residing in Morocco, one of the methods used by the network’s leader to maintain his activities in the country despite being based in Canada.
This development comes as security and judicial authorities continue to dismantle the cells associated with this network, led by Girando, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in charges related to incitement to murder and extortion, as part of a collective scheme targeting public order.
Based on the case details, the investigating judge at the criminal court in Casablanca ordered the new suspect to be placed in Ain Sebaa prison after confirming his direct link to the network’s activities. His arrest was executed by the national judicial police team last week following the emergence of evidence indicating that he had been providing Girando with sensitive information about elements of the gendarmerie and the public prosecutor’s office in the region, which was later exploited in calculated defamation campaigns.
The relationship between the two had not existed from the outset but developed after Girando published a video accusing this individual of collusion with a drug baron. At that point, the suspect contacted Girando, requesting the removal of the video, only to find himself faced with a direct offer to join the network in exchange for halting the defamation against him.
As time went on, the suspect took on the role of a mediator, responsible for delivering the money that Girando obtained from extortion operations to his mother. He was also assigned other tasks, which included photographing private properties belonging to the network’s victims and providing accurate information about security and judicial officials for future pressure and extortion.
The suspect’s entanglement deepened when Girando took advantage of a video call between them to snap a picture of him, which he then published along with accusations that he was a drug baron, placing him under direct extortion and pushing him further into the network’s criminal activities.
After the preliminary investigations concluded, the national judicial police referred the suspect to the public prosecutor’s office in Casablanca on June 7, 2025, where he faced charges related to defamation, threats, invasion of personal life, and extortion, based on digital content published on social media. Consequently, the public prosecutor decided to refer him to the investigating judge, who ordered his arrest and continued prosecution while in custody.
