Four Lebanese and Syrian nationals were arrested in wake of preliminary investigations by Lebanese authorities in the case of the Captagon drug shipment that was seized in the port of Beirut on Wednesday night.
The “nearly nine million Captagon tablets” were intended to be shipped to a Gulf country, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in a press statement.
The Central Narcotics Control Bureau is carrying out preliminary investigations in coordination with the Lebanese army and customs intelligence, and under the direct supervision of State Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oueidat.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Oueidat said that the identity of a number of persons involved in the operation has been identified, adding that some suspects have been arrested.
“The investigation found important information about the source of Captagon pills, their packaging and destination, and the people to whom these goods were sent in the State of Kuwait,” he added, revealing that “complete coordination” is underway with Kuwaiti authorities.
The millions of drugs were concealed in a shipment of fake oranges, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. The drugs were placed in small bags hidden in fake oranges among a real fruit shipment.
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant manufactured mostly in Lebanon and Syria.
With an increase in smuggling operations, Lebanese authorities have tightened their procedures and monitoring operations at all sea and land crossings, even at Beirut International Airport.
A Lebanese security source said the Captagon shipment that was seized on Wednesday was one of the largest smuggling operations that Lebanon had ever witnessed.
