Algeria seizes 4 tons of cannabis

Nearly four tons of cannabis with a street value of around 1.6 million euros ($2 million) have been seized in Algeria near border with Morocco, customs officials said Sunday. The seizure came overnight after customs officers pursued a vehicle that was then abandoned outside the town of Tlemcen, Algeria's APS state news agency reported, citing officials. The driver managed to escape from the vehicle, which had been registered in both countries, and in which the drugs were found. Customs officials report regular seizures of cannabis in the area, with more than 25 tonnes impounded since the beginning of the year. Algeria closed its border with Morocco in 1994 following an attack in the city of Marrakesh that Rabat blamed on Algerian security services. However drugs smugglers and residents of the border area are able to get round the closure.