Georges Dib, aka Doctor Food, in the crosshairs of the Lebanese justice system. (Credit: al-Markazia)
On Tuesday, Mount Lebanon investigating judge Ziad Dghaidy issued an arrest warrant for Georges Dib, a blogger known as “Dr. Food,” for “manufacturing, trafficking and smuggling drugs abroad.” The judge also issued a warrant for the arrest of a Syrian national from the Sammak family on the same charges, according to the al-Markazia agency. The magistrate also forwarded the arrest warrant to all local authorities, with a copy to Interpol, so that the suspect could be arrested in Lebanon or abroad.
Drug-filled cakes destined for export to a Gulf country had been seized at Beirut airport, prompting the prosecution of Dib. They had been manufactured in a factory belonging to the blogger.
Dr. Food denied these accusations in several X posts and called on the Lebanese state "to act immediately to stop those spreading malicious rumors against a Lebanese company that distributes its products throughout the Arab world."
There are rumors that Dr. Food has fled to Dubai. A video posted by him on Facebook and TikTok showing him and his wife on a yacht in the Gulf emirate, celebrating his son's birthday, would seem to confirm these rumors.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.