Minister of the Interior Ahmad Hajjar. (Credit: NNA.)
BEIRUT — Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced Tuesday the seizure at the port of Tripoli, North Lebanon, of "the largest quantity of cocaine ever smuggled" into the country from Brazil.
"We have seized the largest quantity of cocaine ever smuggled into Lebanon via a ship from Brazil destined for the port of Tripoli," Minister Hajjar said, according to statements reported by local media.
According to him, the drugs "were hidden in containers of oils and grease." "Two individuals have been arrested in connection with this operation and other accomplices are being pursued," he added, noting that an investigation is underway.
He also thanked Saudi Arabia for "its efforts and coordination." "We are working tirelessly and with all the resources at our disposal. We will not allow Lebanon to become a corridor for drug smuggling," he concluded.
Lebanese authorities have recently stepped up efforts to combat drug trafficking, which has been at the root of political and diplomatic tensions with Gulf countries in recent years.
At the end of August, the Internal Security Forces (ISF), in cooperation with Qatari authorities, arrested a Brazilian national at Beirut International Airport who had attempted to smuggle cocaine by swallowing 133 capsules with a total weight of 1.8 kg.
The Lebanese Army also recently announced the dismantling of a major Captagon pill manufacturing plant in Yammouneh, in the Baalbeck (Bekaa) region, calling it "one of the largest factories seized to date."
