Maj. Gen. Menad Nouba: “Smugglers should be prosecuted; economy should be protected from attrition”
Commander of the National Gendarmerie, Maj. Gen. Menad Nouba called upon his units, especially those which are operating in the western border, from complacency and inaction in protecting the national economy from attrition.
“There is a need to tighten the screws on the smugglers, and update the plans of confrontation and fighting the organized and cross-border crime, after the outcome of the second Regional Command of the Gendarmerie revealed on an increasing pace of smuggling operations to and from the neighboring country, especially the Algerian fuel.
“I call upon the 25th group of border guards in the border area of Aricha, especially the border guard units, to crack down on the smugglers and combat smuggling that noticed record highs. Various preventive and precautionary measures should be implemented to paralyze and thwart every activity that intended to prejudice the stability and security of the country.”
Figures of the second regional command, which includes 12 provinces from the west of Algeria, reveal that the electronic fence, which was inaugurated by the Kingdom of Morocco, is just a “camouflage”, as the outcome indicates that 39.18% of the total recorded crimes are related to smuggling operations in various forms, as fuel smuggling to Morocco across Tlemcen reaches a record number, with the seizure of 1,100,173 liters.
Phenomenon of food smuggling noticed serious curves, and 3601 tones of various materials were seized, and in return the drugs’ mafia tried to dump Algeria with nearly 40 quintals of toxins from Morocco, while the second regional leadership recorded 1,278 cases of smuggling, during the first nine months of the current year.