French drug network sentenced as funds linked to Algeria

A French court has sentenced seven individuals for operating an organised drug trafficking network that funnelled proceeds directly to Algeria, according to an ObservAlgerie report released on the 10th of June.

The Cahors Correctional Tribunal in the Lot department, in south-west France, examined the case following a massive law enforcement crackdown. The investigation revealed a highly structured local operation connected to an international financial circuit. Cash generated from daily sales was converted into bank transfers and sent to a coordinator based in Algeria.

The network operated two primary distribution points within the city of Cahors. Both were located in the working-class Sainte-Valérie and Terre-Rouge neighbourhoods. Months of police surveillance identified distinct operational roles. These include sales management, product storage, transport, packaging, as well as money laundering.

Investigators uncovered a routine log of 33 night-time supply trips to the regional capital, Toulouse to replenish drug stocks. The operation was highly lucrative, generating several hundred euros per day at each site and serving around 300 customers a week. When law enforcement dismantled the network in April 2026, the operation mobilised 325 police officers and gendarmes, resulting in 18 arrests and the seizure of over 150,000 euros in cash and illicit goods.

The financial laundering mechanism involved multiple intermediaries. One French national, born in 1974, admitted to transferring funds despite knowing they came from illegal activities; police found 30,000 euros hidden at his residence. The prosecution described the enterprise as a family-run, transnational network directed by an overseer in Algeria.

The court handed down seven convictions. The heaviest sentence was given to Bilal, a legal Algerian resident born in 1987, who received four years in prison. Another accomplice, Abdel, who admitted to storing and packaging the products for 500 euros a week, was sentenced to 24 months, with 12 months suspended on probation. One woman prosecuted in connection with the financial structure was acquitted.

ObservAlgerie, La depeche, Maghrebi.org