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No tropical fruits: Drugs found in the port of Beirut
Photo: ANWAR AMRO / AFP
Lebanese customs discovered almost nine million tablets of the prohibited stimulant Captagon in an orange delivery in the port of Beirut.
The amphetamine-based pills were hidden in small bags in fake oranges, as Interior Minister Bassam Maulawi announced.
According to a customs officer, the shipment was destined for Kuwait.
Investigations into the origin of the drugs have been initiated.
Captagon is mainly produced in Syria, but also in Lebanon and Iraq and smuggled into Saudi Arabia in particular.
Lebanon has stepped up its efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of the stimulant after the Gulf States accused it of a lack of cooperation.
Saudi Arabia announced a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon in April after finding more than five million Captagon pills in a shipment of pomegranates.
atb / AFP
