ISF thwarts drug smuggling attempt to 'European country'

BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced on Saturday that it thwarted a drug smuggling attempt to an unspecified 'European country' back in January.

After the information division of the ISF was informed about an individual who was planning to smuggle drugs to a European country through a shipping office, the division located one of the shipping office's warehouses in Masnaa, Bekaa, according to a statement published by the ISF.

On Jan. 4, 2023, the ISF raided the warehouse and, upon searching it, it seized 23.6 kilograms of hashish inside it, hidden professionally inside a shipment of confectionery powder.

The ISF added that the person responsible for the smuggling operation, N.H. (Lebanese, born in 1993), was using a false identity. N.H. was not yet arrested, according to the police statement, but a search and investigation warrant was issued against him.

Lebanese authorities have intensified their efforts lately to combat drug trafficking originating in Lebanon or passing through the country.