Captagon tablets seized by the Lebanese Army in Baalbeck on Sept. 17, 2022. (Credit: Twitter/@Lebarmy)
BEIRUT — Nearly 1 million captagon pills were seized Saturday by the Lebanese Army in Baalbeck, less than 24 hours after a similar seizure was announced at the Port of Beirut.
بتاريخ ١٧ /٩ /٢٠٢٢ أثناء ملاحقة دورية من الجيش لعدد من المهربين في مزرعة النهير في جرد معربون-بعلبك، تعرضت لإطلاق نار فردّت على مصادر النيران بالمثل. بعدها فرّ المهربون إلى داخل الأراضي السورية. ضبطت الدورية حوالى مليون حبة كبتاغون تركها المهربون في المكانhttps://t.co/v5vdhB6OsM pic.twitter.com/D554UV660j
— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) September 18, 2022
In a statement issued Sunday, the army said it opened fire in town of Mazraat al-Nheir, on the outskirts of Maaraboun in Baalbek, against suspected traffickers it was pursuing, adding that the suspects had fired at the patrol first. The suspects fled to Syria, the army said, stating that it seized "nearly a million captagon pills" left behind by the suspects. An investigation is underway.
Lebanon, in the midst of an economic collapse, is often singled out, especially by the Gulf monarchies, for being a hub for captagon trafficking. On Saturday, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced that a "very large quantity of captagon, exceeding 1 million pills" and destined for Kuwait via Sudan was seized at the Port of Beirut. Later Saturday, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior praised "the coordination and cooperation between the Lebanese and Kuwaiti ministries."
Last January, Kuwait conveyed to Lebanon an Arab roadmap containing several requests from the international community, including a crackdown on drug trafficking. Mawlawi regularly highlights drug seizures in Lebanon, assuring that all possible efforts will be made to eradicate trafficking.