Algerian woman sentenced to life imprisonment for cultivating drugs

Algerian woman called was sentenced Monday to life imprisonment in absentia by the Criminal court of Adrar, south of Algeria. She was accused of cultivating drugs.

• Regional gendarmerie of Charouine, 160 km north east of Adrar, discovered  fields planted with poppy and cannabis in Kasr Taghouzi in Betelmine, near Charouine.
• Nine people including two women were arrested however, the tenth accused women is still wanted by the police.
• The security forces also seized 22740 bushes of opium and more than 2450 bushes of marijuana in these fields.

• Drugs control services seized during the first six months of 2008 more than 15 tons of cannabis, which is twice the annual rate during the last ten years.
• Director of the Algerian Bureau for drug fighting , Abdelmalek Sayeh, had revealed that the quantities of cannabis seized by his authority reached 615 to 15.443 kg including 500g of hashish and 9.278 cannabis plants- according to the first six months figures- of 2008, in addition to the seizure of 54.678 psychotropic substances drugs, 982 pills, 280 ml and 75ml bottles of various fluids of psychotropic substances.
• However the drug control service, treated about 3720 files, including 1073 files in relation with drugs’ smuggling , 170 issues related to illicit drugs’ smuggling and trafficking, and 897 special issues of cultivating cannabis and opium.
• Number of cases related to the possession and consumption of drugs reached 2629 cases, including 2508 about possessing and consuming psychotropic substances, in addition to 18 cases of cannabis and opium.
• Investigations led to the arrests of 5.641 people including 52 foreigners.