Army thwarts attempt to smuggle weapons, munitions in In-Guezzam

ALGIERS- An attempt to smuggle weapons and munitions has been thwarted Friday by a detachment of the People’s National Army in In-Guezzam, said the Ministry of National Defence in a statement.

“As part of the measures to strengthen border security and fight against smuggling and organized crime, a detachment of the People’s National Army of the operational area of In-Guezzam (6th Military Region) foiled, during a reconnaissance patrol near the borders today 22 January 2016, an attempt to smuggle a quantity of weapons and munitions,” said the statement.

During this operation the Army detachment recovered “three Kalashnikov submachine guns, four magazines, 142 bullets and two all-terrain vehicles,” added the statement.

In the same operational area, “units of the Army arrested, on 21 January 2016, eleven smugglers of different African nationalities and seized two all-terrain vehicles, over 2.5 tonnes of foodstuffs, mobile phones, DZD 37,976 and various objects,” added the Ministry’s statement.

“During a combing operation in the operational area of Naama (2nd Military Region), units of the National Gendarmerie in collaboration with units of border guards seized 394 kg of cannabis resin,” said the statement.