Algerian court sentences two men to death over 144 kg of ecstasy

A criminal court in Algeria on October 18, 2026, sentenced two men to death for the illegal importation and sale of 144 kg of synthetic drugs—approximately 235,000 ecstasy tablets.

This is the second death sentence issued in the country in two weeks under the anti-drug trafficking law adopted in July 2025, The Rio Times reports.

According to Algerian state radio and the newspaper Echorouk, the court of first instance in Dar El Beida heard the case of eight members of the network. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for all defendants. The other accused were sentenced to terms of 10 years in prison or acquitted.

The charges involved the importation, transportation, storage, and sale of psychotropic and synthetic substances as part of a transnational organized group. The two convicted men were also tried for money laundering and aggravated smuggling, which, according to the prosecution, endangered public health.

The investigation began after police stopped a Seat Ateca with foreign license plates near Dekar Forest in the Dely Ibrahim district on August 11, 2025. Law enforcement officers found 4,965 ecstasy tablets in the car.

During a subsequent search in the Cheraga district, Echorouk reported that authorities seized 48 packages containing 140.6 kg of ecstasy, 430 g of cocaine, and 13.07 million Algerian dinars in cash.

Second verdict under the new law

On October 5, the same court sentenced nine people to death, six of them in absentia. That case involved 113 kg of cocaine and more than 225,000 pregabalin tablets.

Law No. 25-03 of July 1, 2025, provides for the death penalty for large-scale illicit drug trafficking. At the same time, Algeria has maintained a moratorium on carrying out death sentences since 1993. Those convicted in the ecstasy case may appeal the court of first instance’s decision.

Source: ua.news, Staff, October 19, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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