BEIRUT: Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar said Monday that authorities dismantled a network that was preparing to smuggle hashish and the illicit stimulant captagon to Saudi Arabia.
Lebanon has faced pressure from Gulf states to counter the production and trafficking of drugs, particularly the amphetamine-like narcotic captagon, for which the conservative monarchies are a major market.
Hajjar said authorities dismantled the network, which mainly sought to smuggle captagon and hashish, and arrested its head and a number of other people.
“This network had foreign links, with people in Turkiye, people in Australia” and was preparing to connect with operatives in Jordan, he said.
Lebanese authorities “seized 6.5 million captagon pills and 720 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of hashish which were being prepared... for shipment toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Hajjar said.
The operation was thwarted before it reached Beirut port for shipment, he said, adding that fighting the drug trade “is one of the main priorities” of the Lebanese state.
Last week, Hajjar said authorities had seized some eight million captagon pills worth more than $90 million from a warehouse in northern Lebanon and arrested several suspects.
Captagon became neighboring Syria’s largest export following the eruption of the civil war in 2011, and a key source of illicit funding for former president Bashar Assad’s government.
In Lebanon, Assad’s ally Hezbollah faced accusations of using the captagon trade for financing.
The drug has flooded the region, with neighboring countries occasionally announcing captagon seizures and asking Lebanon and Syria to ramp up efforts to combat the trade.
Lebanon says busts international drug network, seizes hashish, captagon
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Lebanon says busts international drug network, seizes hashish, captagon
- Lebanon has faced pressure from Gulf states to counter the production and trafficking of drugs, particularly the amphetamine-like narcotic captagon, for which the conservative monarchies are a major market
Safety of Jordanians a priority during regional conflict, says country’s crown prince
- He visits Civil Defense Department and is briefed on the work it is doing to manage emergencies and protect lives and property amid attacks by Iran
LONDON: The safety of citizens is a priority for authorities in Jordan amid regional tensions, the country’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah Al-Hashimi said on Wednesday as he visited the Civil Defense Department for a briefing and iftar event.
He stressed the importance of keeping pace with the latest developments in civil protection systems and taking every opportunity to enhance the skills of Civil Defense personnel, the royal court said.
The department, which operates under the Ministry of Interior, has been working to manage emergencies and protect lives and property amid a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Tehran in recent days in response to attacks on Iran by the US and Israel. The strikes have targeted civilian and military areas in Jordan and other countries in the region.
During his visit the crown prince was greeted by Maj. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah, director of the Public Security Directorate, and Brig. Gen. Nasser Sweilmeen, the Civil Defense director, and briefed on the work of the Civil Defense Department, the systems it uses, and the ways in which it is responding to the regional conflict.
In addition to firing missiles into Israel, Iran has targeted US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and other American military sites in Gulf countries. Military personnel and civilians in several countries have been killed or injured by missiles or falling debris.
