The Public Prosecution at the National Penal Pole for Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime at the Sidi M’hamed Court announced the arrest of an organized criminal group consisting of 22 individuals and the seizure of more than 3 million psychotropic pills of the Pregabalin type.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Justice, following a preliminary investigation conducted by the Research and Investigation Department of the National Gendarmerie in Cheraga, 11 individuals were caught red-handed. The suspects are identified as: Bousoualim Abdallah (45), Bougrine Abdelhak, known as Oussama (39), Farhati Lyas (29), Azizi Sadek (39), Madi Djamila (31), Sahel Kamal (56), Ben Makhlouf Ayoub (22), Limani Zoubir (37), Dallouli Mostafa (34), Lakhal Adel, known as Al-Hami (41), and Zerarda Jalal, known as Al-Washi (31). They were found in possession of a significant quantity of 300 mg Pregabalin psychotropic pills, totaling 3,441,000 tablets. Eleven other individuals remain at large, though their identities have been fully established.
On February 2, 2026, after the suspects were presented before the Public Prosecution, judicial investigations were initiated against all defendants. They face charges including the felony of illegal importation, transport, shipping, storage, and possession for sale of psychotropic substances within a transnational organized criminal group, and the felony of serious smuggling that threatens public security and health. Additional charges include the misdemeanor of money laundering within a criminal group, the misdemeanor of forgery and use of forged administrative documents, and the misdemeanor of dealing in virtual currencies and operating trading platforms.
Following the interrogation of the detained suspects by the investigating judge, orders were issued to place them in temporary detention. The investigation remains ongoing to apprehend the remaining fugitives and any other individuals involved.
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