Morrocan Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison For Smuggling Morrocans to Algeria

Hunting for evidence, the Algerian security services unlocked the phone data of the young Moroccan defendant “L.M.” 31, after the Public Prosecutor at the El Hadjar Court in Annaba issued a warrant.

The Morrocan man was prosecuted over being part of an international network specializing in migrant smuggling, a case that the Criminal Court of First Instance recently decided at the Annaba Judicial Council.

He was arrested in mid-March 2024 in Sidi Amar, Annaba (eastern Algeria), where he worked in construction works without having legal residence documents. He revealed during the investigation that he is involved in another more dangerous crime, which is smuggling Moroccan migrants to Algeria, in cooperation with an Algerian youth from Skikda (eastern Algeria).

The Moroccan was arrested in his place of residence in Sidi Amar (Annaba). The investigations of the search and investigation unit of the regional group of the National Gendarmerie in Annaba required the assistance of the Information and Communication Technologies Cell, which examined the smartphone of the accused with the permission of the Public Prosecutor at the El Hadjar Court.

The voice calls via the WhatsApp application and pictures show that the Moroccan was involved in smuggling Moroccan migrants to the Algerian territory. Some other pictures and videos also showed illegal migrants on boats and the collection and cutting of quantities of cannabis. As for the calls and voice messages, he was addressing Moroccan “barons” regarding the smuggling of Moroccan citizens by asking them to search for those wishing to live or work in Algeria illegally, and he was also providing them with information to facilitate the process of entering the Algerian soil.

The Moroccan accused defended himself in the drug case, saying that all the pictures were taken in Morocco and that he never smuggled them to Algeria. He admitted his involvement in the smuggling of illegal migrants and said during his trial that the pictures of drugs, fishing boats, and even weapons such as pistols and hunting rifles had nothing to do with him, but that he had downloaded them from other pages and applications. He admitted his communications with the organizers of illegal migration operations to Algeria, and that the images of hard currency money were the result of his work in Algeria, where he received his dues in Algerian dinars and converted them in the parallel market into hard currency and then handed them over to Moroccans to give them to his family in Morocco, according to him.

The Moroccan accused claimed that he was only advising Moroccans to migrate to Algeria, and did not receive money for that, as he was “just a do-gooder”.

After deliberations, the court ruled that the Moroccan defendant should be sentenced to 15 years in prison and that the Algerian youth who helped him smuggle Moroccans to Algeria should be sentenced to six years in prison.