International Drug Ring Targeting West Algeria Neutralized by Police
Algerian National Security has achieved its largest-ever anti-drug trafficking operation, successfully dismantling an international criminal organization. The Central Service for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking seized a monumental haul, including 10,400,000 capsules of pregabalin, a psychotropic substance, and precisely 33.4 kilograms of cocaine. The total market value of these illicit substances is estimated at nearly 1,000 billion centimes, marking a significant blow to organized crime.
The extensive investigation, which commenced in January 2026, uncovered a sophisticated network operating primarily in western Algeria with international ramifications. Investigators traced the masterminds, identified as Moroccan drug lords and fugitives sought by Algerian justice, operating from Morocco. The network also leveraged strategic relays in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for financial management and money laundering, alongside other accomplices based in France, highlighting the complex transnational nature of the criminal enterprise.
Following the full reconstruction of the network's structure and shipment routes from southern provinces, law enforcement, supported by elite units of the Police Special Operations Group, launched coordinated raids. Simultaneous operations took place across the wilayas of Oran, Tizi Ouzou, Algiers, Blida, and Tipaza. This sting operation led to the arrest of twenty-five individuals involved in the criminal organization, including one woman and a foreign national. Additionally, 19 vehicles, including a tanker truck and three motorcycles, were seized, along with over 1.5 billion centimes in criminal proceeds. All suspects were subsequently placed under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor's office, with proceedings before the specialized criminal division in Sidi M'hamed, Algiers, on August 20, 2026.
