Latest news with #LebaneseCustoms
LBCI
01-07-2025
- LBCI
Drug shipment: Lebanon foils smuggling of five million Captagon pills bound for Saudi Arabia via Syria
Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi Drug trafficking networks operating between Syria, Lebanon, and the Gulf show no signs of slowing, with new smuggling attempts thwarted almost daily across the region. In the latest operation, Lebanese customs authorities at the Beirut Port intercepted a shipment containing five million amphetamine pills, known locally as Captagon, and arrested one of the suspects involved. According to details published by the Saudi Press Agency and confirmed by Lebanese sources to LBCI, the shipment originated in Syria and was transported through Lebanon. The drugs were meticulously concealed inside glass and porcelain kitchenware, a common method used by smugglers to disguise illicit cargo. The operation was carried out after Lebanon's Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit received intelligence from Saudi Arabia's General Directorate for Drug Control regarding the concealed shipment inside a container at Beirut Port. Despite the sophisticated concealment, customs officers successfully tracked and intercepted the container, uncovering the massive quantity of Captagon hidden among tableware items. Investigations revealed that the smugglers had planned to route the shipment through Georgia before reaching Saudi Arabia. Authorities say this tactic, involving transit through a third country, is designed to evade suspicion, especially after several high-profile drug seizures involving shipments originating directly from Lebanon and Syria to Gulf states. A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry praised the positive cooperation with Lebanese authorities in tracking and intercepting narcotics, stressing the kingdom's ongoing commitment to confronting criminal networks targeting the Gulf with drug trafficking.
Al Arabiya
01-07-2025
- Al Arabiya
Saudi-Lebanese mission foils attempt to smuggle over 5 mln amphetamine pills
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior revealed Monday that it helped Lebanese Customs thwart an attempt to smuggle more than five million amphetamine pills, as part of the Kingdom's continued efforts to combat cross-border narcotics trafficking. The Kingdom provided critical intelligence that enabled Lebanon's Customs to seize a massive shipment of amphetamine pills, in a proactive move to disrupt international drug trafficking operations, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Security spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Interior, Talal al-Shalhoub, reportedly said the successful operation was the result of close coordination between Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Narcotics Control and Lebanese authorities. 'As part of proactive security monitoring of criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, provided intelligence that enabled Lebanon's Customs to foil an attempt to smuggle more than 5,000,000 amphetamine pills,' al-Shalhoub was quoted as saying. The narcotics were found concealed in glass and porcelain tableware inside a container that had been shipped from a third country to Lebanon, he added. Al-Shalhoub praised Lebanon's authorities for their cooperation and added that 'the Kingdom remains committed to combating criminal activities targeting its security and youth with narcotics, and to arresting those involved.' The operation highlights growing regional collaboration to tackle the illicit drug trade, particularly amid a rise in amphetamine smuggling attempts aimed at Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts in recent years to intercept drugs at their source and strengthen international intelligence-sharing to dismantle transnational criminal networks.
Arab News
01-07-2025
- Arab News
5m amphetamine pills seized after Saudi authorities tip off Lebanese customs
RIYADH: An attempt to smuggle over 5 million amphetamine pills into Lebanon was thwarted after Saudi authorities provided intel to their Lebanese counterparts who intercepted the container where the pills were concealed inside glass and porcelain tableware. Talal bin Shalhoub, spokesman of the Saudi Ministry of Interior, said that intel shared with the Lebanese Customs falls within Saudi Arabia's proactive security follow-up of the activities of drug smuggling criminal networks. He commended cooperation with relevant authorities in Lebanon in monitoring and seizing narcotic substances, stressing that the Kingdom continues to monitor, confront, and thwart criminal activities targeting the Kingdom's security and youth through narcotics, and to arrest those involved.
L'Orient-Le Jour
08-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Baalbek patrol unit apprehended '15 Syrian infiltrators and seized 400 Captagon pills'
During a security operation involving a car chase, a patrol from the Baalbek Customs Task Force apprehended a pickup truck carrying 15 Syrian nationals who had illegally entered Lebanon, Lebanese Customs said in a statement Thursday. "During the vehicle's inspection, the patrol seized approximately 400 pills of Captagon. The detainees and the confiscated items were handed over to the Lebanese Army, and investigations continue under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities," the statement said. "This operation is part of the ongoing efforts by Lebanese Customs to combat smuggling and infiltration attempts, ensuring the security and stability of the country, and highlighting the constant readiness of its personnel to face challenges," the statement concluded. Syria shares a 330-kilometer border with Lebanon, with no official demarcation at various points, rendering it prone to smuggling. Lebanon's security forces regularly announce arrests and seizures linked to the trafficking of Captagon, an illegal amphetamine produced in Lebanon and Syria. Its producers compete inventively to export it illegally, primarily to the Gulf, where it is prized as a party drug. Customs and security forces have already found pills concealed in foodstuffs, industrial equipment, and trinkets. Overland export routes through Syria have also been cut off since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Western governments have long accused the former Syrian president's brother, Maher al-Assad, and his entourage of turning Syria into a hub for illegal drug trade.
