Lebanese policemen and suspects stand near seized drugs. (Credit: @LebISF/X)
BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces (ISF) foiled an attempt this month to smuggle 130 kilos of hashish, hidden in a gas stove, to "a European country," police said in a statement.
The ISF added that the operation, carried out on Sept. 10 in the Dahr al-Baydar region east of Beirut had led to the seizure of drugs and the arrest of two Lebanese men in their 20s allegedly involved in the smuggling.
In a video released on X (formerly Twitter) by the ISF, dozens of packets of hashish can be seen concealed in the bottom of a gas stove being transported on board a truck.
According to the ISF, the September operation follows an initial arrest the previous month of another Lebanese man carrying 2.3 kilos of the drug, hidden in a wooden plank to be sent to Europe by mail.
The three suspects arrested were reportedly all in possession of falsified identity papers, which were also seized.
For several years now, the Lebanese authorities have been stepping up their efforts to combat drug trafficking from or through Lebanon, a practice regularly singled out for criticism, particularly by Gulf Arab countries.