Illustration photo showing "arrest." (Credit: Internal Security Forces)
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced the arrest of one of Lebanon's "most dangerous" Captagon manufacturers and traffickers in a statement released Friday by the National News Agency (NNA). The suspect, identified as M.G., a Lebanese born in 1984, faces accusations of drug trafficking to Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, and Turkey.
M.G., who is under investigation for over twenty cases related to drug trafficking, production, and sale, was apprehended last Monday in Halat (Jbeil district) after being tracked by police from his home in Yarze (Mount Lebanon). He was arrested while carrying a fake passport and marriage certificate and was with two accomplices: another Lebanese born in 1970 and a Syrian born in 2003.
M.G. confessed to producing and trafficking drugs with his brother-in-law, G. CH, a Lebanese born in 1979, and with assistance from a Lebanese woman, Z. M., born in 1986. The brother-in-law remains at large, according to the statement.
The suspect's wife, N. CH, a Lebanese born in 1985, allegedly used the two money transfer offices she owns to handle funds from the drug trade under false names.
M.G. obtained raw materials for drug production, including Captagon, with the help of H. Z., a Lebanese born in 1978 known as "al Nemes," who was arrested in northern Bekaa with a firearm. H. Z. has confessed to the charges.
Another accomplice, a Syrian-Turkish national born in 1980, acted as a mule for smuggling drugs abroad — he would either "swallow" the drugs or hide them in luggage. He was detained at Beirut International Airport upon returning from Brazil with 8 kg of pure cocaine hidden in his suitcase.
During the operation, the ISF seized $12,000, three vehicles, two firearms and shut down the money transfer offices operated by the suspect's wife.
The police are actively searching for other individuals involved in the network.