The Central Bank of Lebanon has started granting permits to accumulated bills that have been approved by the Health Ministry, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan announced on Friday.
Hasan was informed on Thursday that the Banque du Liban (BDL) had started issuing permits to 1,800 compiled bills, his office stated.
“Accordingly, the ministry asks importing companies to start disbursing hidden drugs and shipping depleted ones starting today,” the statement said.
“Warehouses of importing agents, in addition to general drug warehouses, will be under supervision and electronic and field tracking, with the support of ministerial inspection and the competent regulatory agencies.”
This comes after the Health Ministry began to crack down on warehouses and apartments illegally stockpiling medicine across the country.
The raids that have been conducted so far uncovered massive quantities of essential drugs, which underlines the pivotal role that black-market traders and stockpilers have played in the depletion of essential medications from the local market.
On a related note, last week, the BDL decided to open an account to continue subsidizing fuel until September, in parallel with the ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal fuel stockpilers.
