UK arrests Algeria airlines crew member over trafficking

The already struggling Algerian airlines has been shaken by a new scandal after the UK police arrested a steward who is wanted for smuggling stolen goods, Algerian media reported.

Laroussi Rabah an Air Algérie steward, was arrested by British police at London airport following a European arrest warrant issued against him by French justice.

The British police immobilized the Air Algérie plane upon landing on the runway of the English capital’s airport and then proceeded to the arrest of the steward actively sought in France for his involvement in a vast smuggling scandal of high-end smartphones and precious objects stolen in France and diverted to Algeria to be resold on the parallel market.

Laroussi Rabah was among five other Air Algérie stewards wanted by the French judiciary on trafficking charges.

This new arrest adds to a series of scandals involving Air Algérie stewards who have been arrested on drug trafficking charges. In 2021, French police opened a probe against the carrier’s staff after a steward was found acting as a cocaine trafficking “mule”.

In May 2022, Air Algérie has ordered 14 of its crew members to avoid European destinations for fear of being arrested on trafficking charges.

The state-controlled company is nowhere to be found in the ranking of the world’s best 100 airline companies published by Skytrax. It has been running huge deficits estimated annually at 300 million euros due to ill-management.