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Rabat – Algerian forces will fly drones near its southwestern borders – which includes the southern portion of the Moroccan-Algerian border – for the first time in order to monitor border activities and capture drug smugglers, according to a source who spoke to the Algerian Press Service.
The official from the Ministry of Justice made the statement Wednesday night, during a press conference on border security in the region of Bashar.
“The important, portable, and effective devices will widen security efforts and improve the oversight of the western border,” the anonymous source said.
The drones – which will be deployed over the 3,058 kilometer western border – have hidden cameras that interpret ultraviolet rays and other forms of light that are difficult to capture with regular lenses.
“Our efforts will not exceed the field of counter narcotics,” the official said. “Since last January, more than 12 million tons of keef, has entered through the border with Morocco.”
Keef is a form of cannabis – grown in Morocco – that is smoked from a pipe.
Another source from the Algerian Ministry of Defense added during the same press conference that terrorist groups had been participating in activities near the southwestern border that threaten the North African country’s safety.
“The big smugglers have been working with terrorists and different criminal organizations that work in neighboring countries that share borders with us, so border security requires constant alertness,” the defense source said.
Algeria, which consists of largely arid land, shares borders with Morocco, Mali and Mauritania on its southwestern side.
Border tensions between Morocco and Algeria have on the rise throughout 2016. Last year, the kingdom built a 100 km fence along its border with Algeria, separating the Moroccan cities of Ahfir and Beni Drar from the rival country. In response, Algeria built an equality long fence 3.5 meters high along the same route earlier this year.
