Elements of the Internal Security Forces managed to thwart the smuggling of a shipment of Captagon pills to an African country, according to a statement published by the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces - Public Relations Division, on its official website.
The statement clarified that, "As a result of the ongoing monitoring by the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces to pursue drug smuggling networks and arrest their members, the branch obtained confirmed information regarding one of these networks smuggling a quantity of drugs inside a machine from Lebanon to an African country."
It added that, "Following this, orders were given to the operational units in the Information Branch to intensify their investigations to thwart this operation."
The statement indicated that, "After follow-up, they managed to identify one of the suspects involved, who would transport the hidden quantity of drugs inside a machine from Baalbek to Beirut, named: N. Z. (born in 2002, Syrian)."
The directorate explained in its statement that, "On 21-2-2023, after careful monitoring, the special forces of the Information Branch managed to spot him in a pickup truck heading from Baalbek to Beirut, where they executed a well-planned ambush in the Louiza area, resulting in his arrest. Upon searching the pickup truck, a machine was found hiding approximately 160,000 Captagon pills."
It pointed out that, "During the investigation, he confessed to the charges against him, stating that he transported the machine containing the seized quantity of Captagon pills from a warehouse in one of the towns in Baalbek and was heading to Beirut, where it was supposed to be deposited in a warehouse in Dekwaneh in preparation for shipping abroad."
It confirmed that, "The necessary legal procedures were taken against him, and he was referred with the seized items to the relevant authorities based on court instructions, and efforts are underway to arrest all those involved."
