Police dismantle two cocaine networks in western Algeria, seizing nearly 100 kg of the drug
Police in western Algeria have dismantled two criminal networks trafficking cocaine, seizing more than 96 kg of the drug, arresting 12 suspects and confiscating assets worth over 200 billion centimes, or about two billion dinars, according to the national police, the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
The operations were carried out within a single week by the regional organised-crime unit in Oran, working with specialized units of the national police for the western region. Officers also seized 17 vehicles, including three heavy trucks, eleven cars and three motorcycles, and more than 215 million centimes in cash described as proceeds of sales. The suspects were brought before the competent prosecutors.
Investigators said the two networks were directed from abroad. According to the police, their leaders, based in Morocco and in Europe, gave instructions remotely, while local relays in Oran and other western localities carried out their orders on the ground. Each active member and each vehicle used has been identified, and the inquiry continues to identify the instigators abroad.
The case came on the same day as a separate operation in Algiers, where the gendarmerie announced the arrest of 33 suspects and the seizure of one million psychotropic tablets and 30 kg of cocaine. Last week, police in Tamanrasset, in the far south, found 69 kg of cocaine hidden in a refrigerated truck and arrested two people.
Taken together, the seizures show how much pressure now falls on trafficking along Algeria's western frontier, closed to traffic since 1994. In its latest weekly report, covering 28 October to 3 November, the army announced the seizure of more than eight quintals of cannabis resin near the Moroccan border and the arrest of 28 traffickers.
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