BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced on Tuesday that the country’s Anti-Narcotics Bureau had seized 125 kg of cocaine, one of the largest seizures of the drug in recent years.
Hajjar explained that it had been smuggled onto a ship that had arrived at the port of Tripoli from Brazil after passing through Oman.
“They were hidden … and professionally camouflaged among 840 gallons containing oils and grease,” he said, adding that information had been received by the Anti-Narcotics Bureau from the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Saudi Arabia, part of the country’s Ministry of Interior.
Hajjar spoke of “detainees in the case, and there are other wanted persons being pursued.” He added that the investigations were still ongoing and that the seizure had taken place “in the past few weeks.”
Hajjar expressed his gratitude to the Kingdom’s interior minister for his efforts, commending the long-standing contributions of both countries in combating drug smuggling.
He said: “I met him (Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif) at the Arab Interior Ministers Conference, and we agreed to continue our efforts and coordination, and we are seeing one of the fruits of this coordination today.
“Of course, this is not the first time we have coordinated with the Kingdom and the anti-drug departments of other sister countries, as we previously uncovered a captagon-smuggling operation towards the sisterly state of Kuwait.”
Hajjar added that Lebanese authorities had arrested six more individuals recently who had traveled from Latin American countries via Africa in possession of unspecified drugs.
He emphasized that “all these matters are being addressed seriously because they are a fundamental pillar of our strategy.”
Hajjar said that “efforts over the past months have yielded significant seizures and arrests, the most recent of which was today’s operation.”
He added: “We will not accept that Lebanon be a transit point or a gateway for any prohibited items heading to Lebanon or to any sister or friendly country.”
