Algeria leads investigation on Chinese shops for money laundry, drug trade and prostitution

Security forces opened investigations in the activity of some Chinese shops in Algiers which are accused of money laundry, counterfeiting, drug marketing and prostitution.

• The suspicious shops are situated in large areas in the capital like Didouche Mourad, Hassiba Ben Bouali, Larbi Ben Mehidi streets and some affluent areas in Hydra, Delly Ibrahim and Bir Khadem.
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• Chinese rent the shops at 140,000 DZ while their profit is estimated at 6,000 DZ per day due to the quality of their cheap goods.
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• In the night, they turn their activities into wrongdoings like money laundry and currency counterfeiting in collaboration with Africans. Some shops are turned into prostitution houses.
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• Some Chinese shops sell products made of nylon recuperated from plastic rubbish.
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• An investigation is conducted on shops in a Chinese area in Bab Ezzouar in Algiers. A shop’s owner is accused of counterfeiting money in collaboration with Africans and Algerians.
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• President of Traders and Craftsmen Hadj Taher Boulenouar said the spread of foreigners in an illegal way constitutes a real danger on the Algerian economy. “It is not just a matter of the 15,000 Chinese, even Africans turned Algeria into a destination of drug and counterfeited currency.”
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• He added that foreign shops including the Chinese ones carry out suspicious activities. The number of their traders is estimated at 514. Of them, 376 are operating in Algiers.
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• “It was very easy for Chinese traders to expand their activity in Algeria. The National Council for Competition which will be created before the end of June can end those wrongdoings. It will eliminate the black market.”