ISF seizes hashish hidden in wooden statue of Baalbeck temple

BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces announced Friday that it seized 12.8 kilograms of hashish hidden in a wooden figurine of the Baalbeck temple intended to be smuggled to an unnamed European country.

Here’s what we know:

    • The ISF said it intercepted a package containing the figurine at a postal office which led to the arrest of a woman who allegedly had mailed it, and a man suspected of being her accomplice. The ISF reportedly also found in the suspects’ possession 250 grams of cocaine hidden inside a wooden cedar statuette.

    • Lebanese authorities have ramped up efforts to curb smuggling amid criticism from Arab countries for its lack of cooperation on the matter. In early May, the ISF seized 5 kilograms of hashish hidden inside a wooden figure, also destined to be smuggled to a European country.  

A wooden statue of a Lebanese cedar, in which the ISF says it found 5 kilograms of hashish in early May 2022. (Credit: @LebISF/Twitter)