An increase in arms trafficking by drug smugglers is connected to terrorism and will spur security counter-measures, according to Algerian officials. Security forces have seized seven machine guns and 12 automatic pistols from drug smugglers in the last three years, the chief of the judiciary police, Colonel Zeghida, said on Algeria's Radio 3 on February 22nd.
"Drug smuggling can be now be linked to terrorism," he stated, adding that last year there were "fifteen shoot-outs with border guards, up from just four in 2008".
The colonel said that some terrorist groups "obtain the money they need for their survival from the racket, while drug traffickers ensure safe passage for their wares".
Algeria faces persistent problems with trafficking and drug abuse, but has recently scored some successes. Algiers police in January reported dismantling an important drug-trafficking network. But concerns are growing that al-Qaeda could benefit from existing criminal networks, including those involved in the drug trade.
The head of the National Office for the Fight against Drugs and Drug Addiction, Abdelmalek Sayeh, confirmed that terrorist groups are securing weapons through the drug trade.
"The connection between drug traffickers and terrorist groups is no secret," Sayeh said in the February 28th edition of L'Expression. He said that smugglers carrying anything from cannabis to cocaine have been recruited by terrorist groups to help transport weapons.
To counter this threat, the National Gendarmerie will add 59 additional regional brigades in the country's eastern areas by 2014, the Eastern Command chief of staff, Colonel Mohamed-Tahar Benaamane, said on February 24th.
The additional forces will strengthen the National Gendarmerie's presence in the 491 communes in the east, he stated.