“Algeria is facing a drug war that requires everyone to confront it by all means,” said the Minister of the Interior, Local Communities and Urban Planning, Brahim Mourad, Thursday in Algiers.
Mourad explained, in a public session of the National People’s Assembly devoted to asking oral questions to a number of members of the government, that “Algeria is being targeted through drugs, as it is facing a war from its western neighbor that requires us to confront it by various means, through the involvement of all sectors, competent bodies and civil society.” At the same time, with the “tremendous work carried out by the People’s National Army and the various security agencies in combating this phenomenon and protecting our borders from all forms of crime.”
He added, in response to a question about the measures taken by his interests to combat the phenomenon of drug consumption and trafficking, and ways to take care of addicts, especially young people, that the efforts of the National Security Services “resulted in dealing with 32,742 cases during the first quarter of the current year, in which 37,352 people were involved, during which about 1,000 people were detained.” 2.5 tons of cannabis, 17 kg of cocaine and about 1 kg of heroin, in addition to 3.5 million tablets of psychotropic substances.
He pointed out that the same interests were able, during the year 2022, to “handle 85,538 cases related to all drug-related crimes, involving 97,863 people, most of them young people, and as a result, 5 tons of cannabis, 22 kg of cocaine, 8.5 kg of heroin and more than 7 million tablets were seized.” of various psychotropic substances.
The minister considered that this “terrible and continuous” outcome confirms “the size of the efforts made by the National Security Agency in coordination with the interests of his ministerial department and various other security agencies in addressing various forms of drug-related crime, and this proves – as he said – the extent of alertness and vigilance of the state’s agencies in combating This scourge.”
As for the measures taken in this context, the minister explained that his interests, in coordination with the various concerned sectors, “prepared a comprehensive and balanced national strategy that relied mainly on limiting the supply of drugs and working to reduce the demand for them, while ensuring effective care for addicts in terms of treatment and social rehabilitation, under the supervision of a special work force. To prevent this phenomenon, the results of which were discussed at the level of the National People’s Assembly.
And as an embodiment of this strategy – Murad adds – the various security departments are working on “preparing and implementing action plans to involve all their operational units in combating illegal trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances, as well as adopting a preventive policy based on sensitization and awareness of the dangers of this scourge.”
He recalled, “Developing a national strategy for the prevention of neighborhood gangs that extends between 2023 and 2026 under the supervision of a national committee, which is an essential element in the control process, as it aims to adopt mechanisms of vigilance, warning, early detection, information and sensitization, in addition to providing security coverage.”
In this regard, he pointed out that the security services “participated in 10,261 sensitization activities in 2022 and 2,589 other activities during the first quarter of 2023, with the dedication of the Algerian citizen’s reporting culture, which is an essential factor in the security equation.”
He mentioned a review of the legal framework related to combating this phenomenon, whether by amending it or creating new texts to strengthen the legal tools to ensure that, in addition to adopting specialized training to develop the capabilities and qualifications of the judicial police in the field of crime investigation and the creation of specialized interests in combating illegal drug trafficking and cybercrime. Human trafficking and organized crime in all its dimensions.
With regard to taking care of addicts, the minister highlighted that the new amendment to the law devoted an entire chapter to this matter through coordination between several ministries, such as health, by providing specialized centers for addiction treatment, as well as the expiration of judicial follow-up against drug users who were proven to have undergone treatment or initiated it.
In another context, the minister responded to a concern related to taking care of the residents of the old buildings and the chaotic neighborhood in the municipality of Wadi Al-Alayq in the state of Blida, by stressing that his interests “are studying the situation of fragile housing in coordination with the relevant sectors, case by case, to ensure decent housing for all citizens and preserve their dignity,” stressing, “ The state’s keenness on transparency in the distribution of housing.
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