The Lebanese drug trafficker Nouh Zeaiter. (Photo circulating on social media)
The Lebanese drug trafficker Nouh Zeaiter was sentenced Tuesday by the military court to four months in prison, along with the confiscation of all weapons, military equipment, and wireless communication devices seized in his possession.
Questioned by the president of the court, Wassim Fayad, Zeaiter was found guilty in four cases, all minor offenses, including arms trafficking, shootings, possession of weapons and ammunition without a permit, and wearing military clothing.
The Lebanese drug baron was acquitted, on the other hand, in three other cases for lack of evidence, and charges against him were dropped in 33 other cases due to the statute of limitations.
The court also postponed judgment in two other cases to the next hearing on May 5, and is also expected to examine other files at that hearing related to serious crimes such as drug trafficking, murder, and the attempted murder of a soldier.
Arrested last November in an ambush on the Kneisseh road (Baalbeck), Zeaiter was the subject of multiple arrest warrants issued in absentia, notably for drug and arms trafficking.
Aged 48, the "Lebanese Pablo Escobar" is known as one of the biggest hashish traffickers in the country. He is also suspected of having links to Hezbollah, particularly during the party’s involvement in fighting in Syria alongside Assad's troops.
Since 2023, he has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union. In recent years, his name has also been associated with the captagon trade. In March 2024, the military court additionally sentenced him to death for shooting at Lebanese soldiers, one of whom was killed.
During a hearing in January, Zeaiter had denied involvement in the cultivation or trafficking of narcotics. He admitted to having grown cannabis, but only between 2005 and 2008, claiming that he then turned to growing potatoes and oats. He also denied any involvement in arms trafficking.
The Zeaiter clan frequently clashes with the Lebanese Army in the Baalbeck region. Last August, Ali Mounzer Zeaiter, known as "Abu Salle," another major trafficker in Lebanon, was killed during a Lebanese Army operation in Baalbeck's Sharawneh neighborhood.
This neighborhood regularly sees clashes between wanted criminals and law enforcement. In July, the Lebanese army, which has stepped up operations against drug trafficking in recent months — particularly under pressure from Gulf countries — dismantled one of the country’s largest captagon-type amphetamine factories in the village of Yammoune.
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