Hashish keif seized by the Lebanese police (Credit: ISF)
BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced on Wednesday that it seized 27 kilograms of hashish keif (a condensed form of cannabis) hidden inside bags of coffee from a warehouse in Mar Mikhael, a neighborhood in Beirut close to the port.
Before the ISF operation — the exact date of which was not disclosed — the bags of ground coffee were transported from the Bekaa to the Mar Mikhael area where they were put in a warehouse, according to the ISF statement. The smugglers were planning to transport the drugs to the port of Beirut to smuggle them to an undisclosed European country.
"As part of the operations carried out by the specialized units of the ISF to pursue and arrest drug smuggling networks, the Information Division received confirmed data that a network was preparing to smuggle a quantity of hashish keif, hidden inside a shipment of coffee, tea and boxes containing ingredients for preparing sweets, to a European country through the port of Beirut," reads the ISF statement.
"Orders were given to raid the warehouse where the shipment was hidden in Mar Mikhael and seize the drugs before they could be transported to the port of Beirut. On the same date, a force from the division raided the warehouse and seized 27 kilograms of hashish keif hidden inside bags of coffee."
A week ago, Lebanese police foiled a drug trafficking operation by seizing almost 150 kilograms of hashish keif hidden in bags of za'atar (a mixture of thyme and spices), sumac, and keshek (a fermented yogurt powder, mixed with wheat, ground and dried).
Lebanese authorities claim to be doubling down in their efforts to combat drug trafficking in Lebanon and abroad, a practice regularly denounced as insufficient by the Gulf States, which have often intercepted the transport of drugs, especially the highly addictive Captagon, en route from Lebanon to other countries.