Security forces have arrested an individual accused of being one of the primary perpetrators in the biggest outbound drug-smuggling operation recorded in Lebanon, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement Friday.
On February 1st, “as a result of close follow-up and extensive investigations,” Judicial Police members of the regional Anti-Narcotics Office in the locality of Deir Zenoun – Zahle arrested 58-year-old Lebanese national T.K., the statement said.
The ISF said T.K. was “one of the main participants in the largest drug smuggling operation outside Lebanon,” which involved more than 20 tons of cannabis.
He is wanted by the judiciary according to 3 judicial warrants. The statement said an investigation is underway under the supervision of the competent judicial authority.
The smuggling operation in question took place in March 2020 when security forces seized 25 tons of cannabis that were destined to African states.
The drugs were stashed in bags inside 8 trucks, each bag weighing between 25 kg and 30 kg, and the convoy was busted on its way to the Port of Beirut after a month of follow-up by security forces, according to an ISF statement released in April 2020.
A 2019 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ranked Lebanon as the 3rd major supplier of cannabis in the world. The country legalized cannabis cultivation for medical purposes last April.
