Lebanese authorities have released French drug dealer Abdel Karim Touil after three days of detention at Beirut Airport, based on a Red Notice issued by Interpol related to drug trafficking charges involving shipments of cocaine, a judicial source reported to AFP on Wednesday.
According to the source, Lebanon released Touil "on residency terms, determining his residence location, confiscating his passport, and banning him from traveling." The Lebanese authorities requested his extradition file from the French authorities, expecting that Touil will be handed over to France later.
Touil was detained upon his arrival at Beirut Airport on Sunday following a Red Notice issued against him by Interpol, as indicated by the same source. Reports from the French magazine "L'Obs" stated that Touil was holding an Algerian passport when he was apprehended in Beirut.
The judicial source explained that Touil is "under judicial supervision" because Beirut cannot "keep him in custody as extradition requests may take months, and the Lebanese judiciary cannot restrict his freedom in this manner."
Touil, 38 years old, nicknamed "the Professor," was sentenced in absentia in 2023 for his involvement in the smuggling of 720 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment arriving from Brazil. This shipment accidentally reached a company in a village located in southwestern France.
Additionally, Bouqataia, nicknamed "Bibi," is wanted in several cases related to drug trafficking through the port of Le Havre in France, and he was also pursued under a Red Notice issued by Interpol.
