Algeria: court summons General Abdelghani Hamel in connection with 700 kilos of cocaine
Practically improvised at the last minute, the trial for the case of 700 kilos of cocaine discovered in May 2018 in the port of Oran, in a shipment of frozen meat from Brazil, has been postponed to the next session at the request of the defence for lack of a file containing the results of the investigation. This investigation never took place, for reasons that remain unclear to this day.
Reopening of the case
In light of the war between the internal security services under the Ministry of National Defence and the police services under the Ministry of the Interior, it was decided to hold the trial of a case that had been shelved for five long years. It was a reaction by Farid Bencheikh, the former director general of the National Security, to the measures taken against him by the generals of the security services. It was a war that he ended up winning, and he will undoubtedly take with him the case of the 700 kilos of cocaine that he tried to reopen.
The reopening of this case in court will be marked by the appearance of General Abdelghani Hamel, former head of the National Police, but also a former military officer who served mainly in the gendarmerie and the Republican Guard. In other words, the man who was the first to speak out against the marginalisation of the force he commanded at the time of the events will be called to see the investigation entrusted to the National Gendarmerie, then under the command of General Abdelghani Belksir, now on the run in Europe.
A few minutes before his dismissal, on 28 June 2018, he had declared that "whoever wants to fight corruption must be clean". The insinuation was clear. It was addressed to General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, then Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of Army Staff. His reaction was withering. Within minutes of this statement, he burst into the office of the President of the Republic and demanded that the police chief be dismissed or imprisoned. His wish was an order. The order was carried out without the slightest hesitation. From that moment on, General Abdelghani Hamel experienced an unparalleled descent into hell.
On 27 April 2019, he and his son were summoned to court for "illegal activities, influence peddling, misappropriation of land and abuse of office".
On 4 July 2019, Abdelghani Hamel and two of his sons were summoned to appear before the Sidi M'Hamed court on charges of misappropriation of land and illicit enrichment. Questioned until midnight by an examining magistrate, they were remanded in custody and transferred to El-Harrach prison to await trial.
On 1 April 2020, Abdelghani Hamel was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment and a heavy fine in several corruption cases, mainly related to "money laundering, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and obtaining land by illegal means". This sentence was reduced on appeal to 12 years' imprisonment. His sons Amiar, Chafik, Mourad and Chahinaz were sentenced to ten, eight, seven and three years' imprisonment respectively, plus fines. These sentences were reduced on appeal to 8 years, 6 years, 5 years and 1 year respectively (with 1 year suspended). His wife, Annani Salima, was sentenced to two years in prison. Abdelghani Hamel's family businesses were fined large sums and ordered to "confiscate all property and movable assets".
On 4 June 2020, he was again sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for "misappropriation of agricultural land and influence peddling". His son Chafik was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The court declared the indictment null and void in April 2022.
In another case, he was sentenced on 26 June 2020 to four years' imprisonment for "abuse of office and laundering of public money to finance terrorist groups, under the guise of purchasing real estate". He was acquitted on 7 November 2021 on appeal.
On 14 October 2020, in a case involving Nachinachi Zoulikha, alias Mme Maya, (who also claimed to be the hidden daughter of former President Bouteflika), he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, a sentence confirmed on appeal on 31 December 202013,14. His assets were confiscated in 2021.
The man who claimed to have a dossier on the 700 kilos of cocaine affair reappeared in the light of the unexpected opening of an impromptu trial at the last minute. A trial we can hardly be sure will take place after the dismissal of Farid Bencheikh and the imprisonment of a dozen police officers over the sordid story of an illegal immigrant who had no idea that his flight from the country had reignited the service war in his own country.
