View of Ashrafieh, Beirut. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — The public prosecutor’s office at the Beirut Court of Appeal, presided over by Raja Hamoush, ordered the detention of Mohammad Hamade for possession of large quantities of narcotics. His arrest followed a search of his residence in Ashrafieh, where investigators found several safes containing substantial amounts of drugs.
A judicial source told L’Orient-Le Jour that the Intelligence Branch of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) had placed the suspect under surveillance for about a month before carrying out the search. During his interrogation, Hamade claimed that the confiscated drugs were for his personal use, but the prosecutor’s office decided to keep him in detention in view of the significant quantities of narcotics discovered.
The investigation was closed on Tuesday under the supervision of Judge Hamoush, who is expected to refer the case to the Central Bureau for Drug Control for further investigation.
