5 British suspects arrested in Morocco for money forgery

RABAT - Five British tourists were arrested Friday in the Moroccan province of El Haouz for money forgery, according to the interior ministry.

The suspects were allegedly involved in currency falsification and trafficking, prostitution, assault and battery, said the police.

The arrests were made after the suspects sought to exchange £1,170, £640 of which were forged £20 bank notes, at a currency exchange in the Gueliz district of the southern city of Marrakech.

Some Moroccan currency suspected from trading operations with counterfeit foreign currency was also seized.

Five people, including two Moroccan women, in connection with the suspects were arrested during the operation in the province of El Haouz, about 35 km away from Marrakech.

If the suspects are found guilty as part of a trafficking ring, they could each face up to ten years in prison, according to Moroccan lawyers.