Dazzling rise in Algerian cannabis seizures in 10 years

The quantities of cannabis resin seized in Algeria are resin at a dizzying rate over the past ten years, reaching more than 614 tonnes during the period between 2003 and 2013, according to the National Office for the Fight against Drugs and Drug Addiction (ONLDT).
"The quantities of cannabis resin seized in Algeria has reached 614 tonnes in ten years, increasing from 8 tonnes in 2003 to more than 211 tonnes in 2013, up 2 500 percent," the office's interim general manager, Mohamed Benhalla, told APS.
Figures have shown an "exponential rise" in the quantity of seized cannabis resin from Morocco," he added.
According to a 2014 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the area devoted to the cultivation of cannabis in Morocco is estimated at 57,000 hectares, compared to 10,000 hectares in Afghanistan.
The figures have confirmed a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), published on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on June 26.
According to the report, Morocco is still the major exporting country of cannabis resin (hashish) to Europe.  
"In Algeria, the quantities of cannabis resin seized in 2004 exceeded 12 tonnes. The quantities seized are growingly increasing since 2008, with over 38 tonnes seized in that year, and more than 157 tonnes in 2012," Benhalla disclosed.
The seizures "show that large quantities of drugs are dumped into Algeria, which remains a transit country and has been the subject of a 'drug bombing' by Morocco."
According to the official, the quantity of the drug seized in Algeria "has increased twenty-fold since 2003, but accounts for only one third of the quantities the dealers pass in transit to other countries."