Lebanese authorities have detained a Lebanese national at the request of French judicial authorities on suspicion of importing electrical equipment from France for Hezbollah, allegedly for use in military activities, particularly the manufacture of drones.
The Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch arrested the suspect, identified as Rabih T., and launched an investigation under the direction of Prosecutor General Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, who is personally overseeing the case.
A senior judicial source said the arrest followed a French judicial request seeking the suspect’s detention and extradition for questioning in connection with a network dismantled in France that is suspected of exporting equipment and devices to Hezbollah.
According to the source, who requested anonymity, the suspect underwent preliminary questioning by the Information Branch under the direct supervision of Prosecutor General al-Hajj and Military Court Commissioner Judge Claude Ghanem.
During the interrogation, he acknowledged importing three shipments of electrical equipment and devices, which he later handed over to an individual he said he knew only by a nickname and who is believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah.
The suspect reportedly told investigators he was unaware that the equipment could be used for military manufacturing purposes.
The case comes amid growing international scrutiny of Hezbollah’s financing channels and its military and technological capabilities, particularly programs linked to the development of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The judicial source said the suspect admitted importing the equipment through maritime shipping as part of larger consignments of electrical supplies for his company.
He told investigators that he owns a business operating in the electrical equipment sector and that the imports were conducted as part of his normal commercial activities.
He denied any knowledge of the equipment’s ultimate use or the purpose for which it had been imported.
The statements are considered significant because investigators suspect the imported devices may have been used in the production of motors or other technical components for Hezbollah drones, a key focus of ongoing investigations in both Lebanon and France.
Alongside the security and judicial inquiries, Lebanese authorities have formally notified France of the suspect’s arrest.
The source said the Public Prosecution Office has requested a complete copy of the French investigation and supporting documents to assist Lebanese authorities in assessing the evidence underlying the French judicial request and determining the accuracy of the allegations.
The Information Branch has completed its preliminary investigation and referred the case to the military prosecutor’s office. Judge Ghanem subsequently filed charges against the suspect and transferred the case to a military investigating judge.
Authorities have also issued a search order aimed at identifying and apprehending a second individual believed to be involved.
Although the military judiciary has formally taken up the case, judicial officials say the investigation remains in its early stages.
The significance of the case, the source said, will largely depend on the evidence provided by French authorities, including details about the imported equipment, its actual end use, and the identities of members of the suspected network in both France and Lebanon.
Investigators are seeking to determine whether the imports were legitimate commercial transactions later diverted to unauthorized uses without the importer’s knowledge, or whether they formed part of a broader network involved in procuring technical components for Hezbollah’s military-development programs — a scenario that would give the case security implications extending well beyond Lebanon.
