Lebanese Customs has seized a large amount of counterfeit fertilizer that is harmful to the soil and crops.
During a press conference on Friday, Chief Customs Officer of Saida, Major Omar Gharios, revealed that customs personnel had arrested a group of six individuals who had been smuggling counterfeit fertilizers.
Gharios said that the detained individuals are five Lebanese nationals and one Syrian national.
“In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, we were able to seize about 75 tonnes of fake agricultural fertilizers and arrest the network that carries out smuggling operations in southern Lebanon, Mount Lebanon, and Bekaa,” he stated.
The confiscated fertilizers, which were smuggled in from Syria, have been stored in warehouses and sealed with red wax. The vehicles used in the smuggling operation were also seized.
With that said, Gharios explained that customs will work to retrieve these fertilizers from “all farmers who have fallen victim to fraud, to seize and destroy them,” noting that all farmers have been informed of this.
Gharios indicated that this is the first time customs detains the entire smuggling network in such cases.
Notably, on Saturday, the Lebanese Army announced several anti-smuggling operations that had taken place on Thursday and Friday.
