The truck stopped in Akkar after having allegedly been used to smuggle people across the Syrian-Lebanese border this week. (Courtesy of: Michel Hallak)
According to witnesses at the scene, the Lebanese Army on Thursday arrested more than 140 Syrians who had entered Lebanon illegally, L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in northern Lebanon reported, adding that the arrests took place in Akkar.
The army confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that an arrest of illegal entrants to Lebanon had taken place, but did not specify how many people had been detained and offered no further details on the incident.
According to the witnesses our correspondent spoke to, some 144 people who had entered the country via illegal crossing points at the border in the Wadi Khaled area were on board a truck apparently carrying stones, the trailer of which had been fitted out to contain a compartment to transport people.
The vehicle was stopped by the army at the military checkpoint at the entrance to the Akkar village of Shadra, the witnesses said, adding that its driver, a Lebanese national, was also arrested.
There are numerous networks of smugglers operating across the porous border between Lebanon and Syria.