Arrest of suspected drug dealer in Dekwaneh

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced the arrest of a suspected dealer in early September in Dekwaneh. The suspect, A.KH., 49, was caught in the act while selling drugs from his moped, the statement said. He was active in several areas of the Mount Lebanon governorate, particularly in the Metn region.

The police found cocaine and its derivatives, marijuana and 'keif' hashish ready for sale in his possession. The suspect admitted to having sold drugs to a large number of customers in Mount Lebanon. He was handed over to the competent judicial authorities, according to the ISF.

Lebanese authorities have recently stepped up their fight against drugs, carrying out numerous seizures. Last week, the army announced it had "seized about 64 million captagon pills and 79 barrels of chemicals intended for the manufacture of narcotics, during an operation" in Boudai near Baalbeck, in the Bekaa region on the border with Syria.

Lebanon is facing pressure from Gulf countries to curb the production and trafficking of narcotics, in particular captagon, an illegal synthetic amphetamine that was Syria's main export before the downfall of Bashar al-Assad. Last Thursday, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Boukhari, praised the efforts made by Lebanon's Interior Ministry in its fight against drug smuggling, especially towards the kingdom.