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Moroccan rapper ElGrande Toto was taken into custody on Monday evening, following several complaints filed against him for public statements he made about using cannabis, a judicial source said.
The Casablanca-born rapper, who is a massive star in the Arabic-speaking music world, had in late September told reporters who gathered after one of his concerts, “I smoke hash — so what?… It does not mean I set a bad example.”
His comments sparked an outcry in Morocco, and the 26-year-old was on Thursday forbidden from leaving the territory by authorities and was also summoned by the police in Casablanca.
A prosecutor of a Casablanca court on late Monday decided to place Taha Fahssi — ElGrande Toto´s real name — in custody after complaints were filed by “three artists, a journalist, and a policeman”, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity.
According to daily newspaper Le Matin, the rapper is the subject of a preliminary investigation that would focus on all his publications, digital content and statements “likely to contain elements punishable by law”.
He was taken into custody a day after he made a public apology for his comments.
“I offer my apologies to anyone offended by my words, starting with the authorities and my public,” ElGrande Toto told a packed press conference Sunday in Rabat.