Algeria arrests 21 for alleged arms trafficking

Twenty-one people have been arrested in Algeria following an alleged attempt to smuggle weapons aboard a commercial ferry coming from France, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Two people, a man named Moussa Zaidi and his wife, were initially arrested on August 4 in Bejaia, some 220 km east of Algiers, after authorities found weapons inside their car upon their arrival from Marseille, the ministry said.

"Security services proceeded to arrest 19 other members of the same terrorist network and seized another significant quantity of weapons discovered in a clandestine weapons cache near Bejaia," it said in a statement.

The defence ministry said the group were part of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria classifies as a "terrorist organisation".

In total, 21 weapons were seized along with 2,000 live bullets and "clothing similar to military uniforms", among other things, state news agency APS reported on Wednesday.

It was not clear how the couple had managed to leave the French port with the weapons in their vehicle, a grey Citroen mini-van.

The group aimed at "sowing disorder and insecurity and disrupting the smooth running of the next presidential elections" scheduled for September 7, the defence ministry said.

• World