National Gendarmerie commander Maj. Gen. Ali Seydan said in Algiers that drugs and psychotropic substances had become a multidimensional security challenge affecting public health, road safety and economic and social security.[1][2][3] Seydan spoke alongside Justice Minister Lotfi Boujemaa at the opening of a national forum on the dimensions of drug use under traffic law 26-09, held at the National Army Club in Beni Messous.[1][2][4] Gendarmerie units arrested 25,218 people in the same effort, with 5,264 placed in detention, and dismantled 186 networks specialising in drug trafficking.[1][5][2][6][4][7][8][9][3][10][11][12][13][14]

During the first 10 months of 2026 the units seized about 11 tonnes of processed kif.[1][5][2][6][4][7][15][9][10][12][13][14] In the same period they seized 16,270 kilograms of cannabis herb and 4,162 cannabis shrubs.[1][5][2][6][4][7][15][9][10][12][13][14] The same haul included 837 kilograms of cocaine, more than 13.6 million pregabalin tablets, 59,937 ecstasy tablets and 1,021,879 other psychotropic tablets, which are not counted as cannabis.[1][7]

Seydan described drugs as a cross-border strategic threat in which organised crime overlaps with illicit financial interests.[1] In 2026 roadside screening recorded 154 positive results from 9,167 tests, while drivers under the influence caused 161 fatal and 144 injury accidents.[1][2][4]

Seydan said the figures cover the Gendarmerie’s own operations and do not include the results of other security services.[16]

At Oran, officers found two organised international criminal networks, seized 96 kg of cocaine and arrested 12 people.[7][8][12][14] At Algiers, an operation against a cross-border network arrested 33 people and seized more than 1 million psychotropic tablets, 30 kg of cocaine and 176 kg of cannabis resin.[7][15][12][13][14] At Constantine, customs working with the army found nearly 200 kg of drugs and stimulants hidden in a garage.[7][8][9][11][14] General Ali Sidane warned that trafficking networks are using digital technology and encrypted messaging apps to widen their operations and hide their routes.[7][9][14]

The Vietnamese news agency’s Algiers correspondent reported that 5,264 of those arrested had been placed in pre-trial detention.[8][3][11][14] In the south, traffickers hide cocaine inside the parts of refrigerated trucks and deliver it to northern provinces, and some networks use modified vehicles to conceal drugs and move them between several locations.[8][14]