Big Lebanon drug bust finds 5 mn Captagon pills

Big Lebanon drug bust finds 5 mn Captagon pills
Thu Feb 6, 2014 23:43:33

Lebanese police and anti-narcotics forces have seized millions of Captagon pills hidden in a dummy crusher north of the eastern city of Baalbek and detained four Syrian natives in connection with the illicit drug trafficking.

A police statement on Thursday said the confiscated equipment and drugs would be displayed at the anti-drug office in the Bekka Valley town of Zahle later in the day, Lebanon-based Daily Star reported.

Security sources said that anti-drug agents found an estimated 5 million Captagon pills inside a crusher.

They further added that the pills were packed ready to be exported to an Arab country.

The sources also stated that Lebanese authorities arrested four Syrians late on Wednesday during a drug bust in the Bajaja Al-Ain neighborhood north of Baalbek for allegedly trafficking illegal drugs.

They arrestees were identified as Ahmad Abdel-Sattar al-Berr, Ammar Mohammad Yasser al-Berr, Ibrahim Hussein Mohammad and Ziad Jawdat al-Azzam.

The suspects were taken to Beirut for further interrogation, the sources added.

Captagon is a stimulant used recreationally across the Arab world, particularly in the Persian Gulf region, where a single tablet can sell between $10 and $20.

Earlier on Wednesday, six Syrians were arrested in two separate incidents related to manufacturing and smuggling Captagon pills.

A police statement said an inspection unit at Beirut airport caught one Syrian national as he was trying to smuggle 30,000 Captagon pills in specially made cavities in clothes hangers in his luggage.

In the Bekaa Valley village of Jabbouleh, security forces arrested five Syrians as they worked on an equipment that manufactures Captagon pills.

MB/MB

string(176) "[{"id":"1562845","sort":"3163159","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/02/05/alalam_635272379283987753_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Lebanon issues arrest warrant for terrorist figure"} ]"