A senior security official in Algeria has been subject to judicial prosecution on suspicion of being involved in a case that has raised public attention.
The case is related to hard drug trafficking, the official’s "exploitation of his job to gain quick profits" and its connection with suspicious real estate activities.
It has brought down dozens of military civilian officials and led to the imprisonment of senior army officers. They were released a few days ago, but the charges against them have not been dropped.
Algiers Court’s inquiry judge will summon Noureddine Berrachedi, the former police officer in the capital, in the coming few days to question him about his relationship with Kamel Chikhi, a detained suspect in the case, an official source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Known as El Bouchi, Chikhi is the main defendant in the case that saw the confiscation of 701 kg of cocaine in the western port of Oran in late May.
The new Police chief, Colonel Mustafa Lebiri, removed Berrachedi from his post in early July as soon as he learned of his friendship with Chikhi.
Last week, the public prosecution issued an order preventing Berrachedi from traveling abroad as investigations are ongoing.
A judicial source explained that Berrachedi was involved in facilitating El Bouchi’s activities that were related to large real estate projects and the ownership of land in upscale neighborhoods.
In exchange, the former security official received from Chikhi luxury apartments, in addition to many privileges.
Chikhi mainly worked on importing red meat from South America to the Algerian army. The last meat shipment coming from Brazil was loaded with drugs.
Real estate is also a lucrative industry for Chikhi. Besides financial gains, it has helped him establish a strong network of relations with powerful figures to facilitate his work.
His lawyer told the press that he was unaware of the smuggled drugs in his meat shipments, implying that the cocaine was put in the containers when the ship stopped in Spain before completing its trip to Oran.
