“The smuggling operation is the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut global Airport”, the source said on condition of anonymity.
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A Saudi prince has been arrested after two tonnes of amphetamines were seized before they were due to be loaded onto his private jet in Lebanon, it has been revealed.
Captagon, initially the trade name for the artificial stimulant fenethylline was created to treat narcolepsy, hyperactivity and depression. Security services were questioning the suspects, the sources said, without elaborating. The drug is consumed mainly in the Middle East, particularly the Gulf.
Investigators said they found 40 bags of Captagon Amphetamine pills and a few cocaine aboard the plane, which was about to depart for the northern Saudi city of Hael.
The five Saudi citizens were still in the airport and would be questioned by Lebanon’s customs authority, the source added.
Lebanese security forces foiled an effort to smuggle 15 million Captagon pills concealed in shipping containers filled with corn from the seaport in Beirut, in accordance with AFP.
In 2013, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said 64% of global seizures of amphetamine took place in the Middle East, and that most of the amphetamine was in the form of Captagon pills. Last month, Prince Majed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al was arrested in Los Angeles.
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The terror group also sell the drug to help fund their campaign, according to reports.
