Officials in Algeria seized half a ton of cocaine that was floating off the country’s coast after fishermen in the area informed the authorities, according to a report by CNN. The fishermen found the bags containing cocaine near port city Oran on Saturday at night. The Coast Guard members fished the bag, which contained 490 kilograms of cocaine, out of water.

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Algeria’s Ministry of Defense on Monday released a statement regarding the incident, describing it as “an attempt to introduce a huge quantity of cocaine intended to flood our country with these poisons and drugs”. It added that the seizure of cocaine took place “in the wake of operations to fight against smuggling and organized crime”, reported CNN.

“The investigation is still ongoing to determine all the details of this criminal attempt”, said the ministry. “This operation reinforces the positive results achieved by the (Algerian People’s National Armed Forces) units in the field, particularly in light of the sense of civic-mindedness and cooperation of the citizenry, which in turn contributes to the fight against crime”.

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According to The Guardian, 490 kilograms of cocaine were split into 442 packs. This was the largest cocaine seizure since 700 kilograms of the drug was seized in Brazil in 2018. Algeria’s anti-drug office said that more than 25 tonnes of resin were also seized in the first four months of 2021. According to Reuters, in 2013, Algeria said that drug trafficking was the top security threat to the nation.