Lebanese police announced in a statement released Friday the arrest on Jan. 30 in the locality of Ersal (Baalbeck district) of a Captagon producer and trafficker to Arab countries.

Born in 1966 and nicknamed Abou Khaled, the trafficker was subject to several arrest warrants for drug-related crimes, kidnapping and counterfeiting. He moved between Lebanon, Syria and Turkey using false papers bearing the name of his deceased brother.

Authorities believed they had arrested and imprisoned this man in 2015, before discovering he had provided false papers and paid someone to take his place in prison. The trafficker has been handed over to the competent authorities.

The Lebanese authorities have intensified their efforts to combat drug trafficking from or through Lebanon, a practice regularly criticized by the Arab Gulf countries. This arrest comes as Lebanon is giving new impetus to its relations with neighboring countries. Several Arab political leaders have visited Beirut after the election of President Joseph Aoun.