Authorities in Lebanon busted the largest cocaine smuggling operation in the country, announced Interior Minister Ahmed al-Hajjar.
The bust was carried out based on accurate information provided by Saudi Arabia, he revealed in a press conference in Beirut.
The 125 kilograms of drugs were concealed in a consignment of vegetable oil containers onboard a ship sailing from Brazil and which had docked at port in the northern city of Tripoli.
Hajjar said Lebanese authorities had received information from the Saudi Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control about the illicit cargo.
This allowed the Lebanese security forces to monitor and seize the shipment. Suspects are being pursued, and investigations are underway, he revealed.
Hajjar expressed his gratitude to the Saudi interior minister for the ongoing “close coordination and cooperation,” saying that such busts demonstrate the efficiency of joint Arab work in combating smuggling and the drug trade.
“We will not allow Lebanon to become a passage or hub for drugs,” he vowed.
Meanwhile, Saudi Ministry of Interior security spokesman Brigadier General Talal bin Shalhoub stressed that the Kingdom remains committed to monitoring, confronting, and thwarting criminal activities that seek to target the security of the Kingdom, its youth, and those of brotherly and friendly countries.
