Approximately 400 computers, originally belonging to the public high school “Les Vinyes” in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona, have been located in Morocco. The discovery was made by an open-source analysis specialist who also identified other stolen devices from schools in the Penedès region and Andalusia. Manny of these terminals bear the insignia of the Catalan government, which has confirmed their origin from public schools.

Investigators hypothesize that the devices were transported overland to southern Spain before being shipped across the Strait of Gibraltar. After passing through identified warehouses, the computers were distributed to retail merchants who are reselling them at substantially reduced prices.

The examination reveals that resellers are not making efforts to conceal the dubious origin of the computers, as they are aware that European authorities have limited recourse in Morocco. The lack of response from Moroccan police to collaboration requests from their foreign counterparts further emboldens smugglers, making recovery efforts and the disruption of cross-border smuggling networks challenging.

the investigator expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from Moroccan authorities, noting that unanswered contacts have hampered progress.Criminals have also exercised caution by not publishing images of the devices on their official promotional channels.

Catalan police initiated an investigation following the disappearance of the devices,but progress has been slow. The difficulty in quantifying the exact number of stolen devices and the extent of the smuggling operation complicates the investigation.