Algeria converts desert barracks into prison for drug barons

The Algerian government is moving to establish a prison for drug barons and traffickers deep in the Algerian Sahara, in bid to curb the worsening drug trade and flow into the country.

The move comes alongside the creation of a  new security body dedicated to combating drugs and renewed emphasis on the implementation of the death penalty for those involved in forest fires.

The Supreme Security Council, which met on  Wednesday under the chairmanship of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, announced the "conversion of a barracks belonging to the People's National Army in the Grand Sahara at Tanezrouft, in the Bordj Badji Mokhtar area in Algeria's far south, into a high-security prison for drug barons and traffickers".

The additional deterrent measure is aimed at curbing the worsening drug trade, smuggling and trafficking in psychotropic pills.

The measure could later be expanded to include members of neighbourhood gangs and criminal groups, amid a belief that Algeria is seeking to replicate the experiences of some countries, such as El Salvador, in this regard.

Several popular demands had previously called on the government to establish prisons deep in the desert to house drug traffickers and members of neighbourhood gangs.

Tanezrouft was selected because of its high temperatures. It is considered one of the hottest areas in the world, with temperatures reaching 52°C.

It is also almost uninhabited and about 400 kilometres from the nearest urban area.

A statement from the Algerian presidency confirmed the establishment of a security agency specialising in combating drugs, "as is the case in many countries, such as the United States".

Algeria currently has an agency for combating drug trafficking, which is expected to be restructured into an integrated security body dedicated exclusively to combating and pursuing drug traffickers and barons.

Algeria has witnessed a major flow of cannabis through its western borders and psychotropic pills through its eastern and southern borders in recent years.

On 20 August, the Central Office for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, affiliated with the General Directorate of National Security, foiled an operation described as "highly significant".

It was the largest of its kind in the country's history. It resulted in the seizure of 10.4 million capsules of the psychotropic substance pregabalin and 33.4 kilograms of the hard drug cocaine, along with vehicles, motorcycles and a substantial amount of proceeds from criminal activities.

The total market value of the seized items was estimated at $70 million.

The quantity alone was equivalent to the total amount seized throughout 2024 and about half the amount seized in 2025.

Security affairs expert Mabrouk Kahi told The New Arab that "this significant decision means that the Algerian state has decided to move from legislative deterrence to punitive deterrence in its war on drug barons and the illicit trade in psychotropic pills, because the issue of drugs has become very serious and threatens civil peace.

"The security solution is the most effective and efficient, alongside some strict deterrent policies such as the new decision."

Kahi did not rule out "allocating another prison in an isolated area for neighbourhood gangs".

"There was a need to build prisons in the far southwest, in the areas of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, Tinzaouatine and Ain Guezzam, in the far south of the country, as a deterrent option, especially as these areas are relatively isolated, and establishing prisons there would spread fear among consumers and even traffickers," he said.

"These security policies will end the isolation of these areas, as they will bring them into the Algerian social debate."
 

Death penalty for forest fire crimes

In a separate development, the Supreme Security Council in Algeria included the fires in its meeting on Wednesday and "reviewed the progress of the precise security and scientific investigations being led by the gendarmerie and national security services, which will announce the findings of the investigations at a joint meeting".

The security council stressed the need to enforce death sentences in all cases related to this type of crime.

On Sunday, Tebboune instructed Justice Minister Lotfi Boujemaa, during a government meeting also attended by army and security service commanders and governors of provinces that had recently witnessed fires, to take measures before 15 September "to amend the penal code and introduce the death penalty for those involved in forest fires".

Tebboune stressed the need to carry out death sentences, adding, "Those sentenced will not remain in prison for a year or two".

The comments came against the backdrop of the heavy loss of life caused by recent fires, which killed dozens of victims, although the authorities have not yet disclosed an official toll.

The fires also caused the loss of unprecedented areas of forest and vegetation in the region.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.