Algeria: smugglers use talismans to mislead Gendarmerie forces

The National Gendarmerie forces seized a car carrying a quantity of black powder and a quintal and 37 kg of drugs on Thursday in Tlemcen province (west of Algiers). A sample of the powder was taken to a police laboratory for analysis as well as some talismans which were put in the car.The “mysterious” black powder is likely to be used to stop the sense of smell of police dogs as they constitute a main tool to dismantle drug smuggling networks.  Previous security investigations showed that drug smuggling used female dog’s waste remnants and put them on drug hideouts to stop the sense of smell of police dogs.Investigators believe that the talismans are likely to be used to mislead security forces and they may have come from Morocco as it is the source of those drugs. On Wednesday, the National Gendarmerie forces in Tlemcen foiled an attempt of smuggling more than a quintal of drugs.