Algeria seizes record ecstasy haul tied to regional drug smuggling network

Algerian authorities have seized 1.65 million ecstasy pills, worth nearly $30 million, in what they described as Africa’s largest haul of the drug, AFP reports. The shipment, hidden in a truck which arrived by boat from the French port of Marseille, was linked to a criminal network operating between Morocco and France, police said.

Nine suspects were arrested on charges including international drug trafficking and money laundering. Additional vehicles and large sums of suspected illicit cash were also seized. Officials did not confirm the nationalities of those detained.

The bust underscores the growing role of North Africa as a corridor for synthetic drugs bound for Europe, raising concerns over the region’s vulnerability to organised crime. Algeria has stepped up counter-narcotics efforts as instability across the Sahel and Maghreb increases pressure on security services.