The change in weather has not prevented human trafficking gangs from continuing to carry out illegal migration trips by sea, the latest of which was announced by the army to have been thwarted five days ago off the coast of the town of Chekka. Notably, the army's announcement highlighted the small number of people aboard the boat, which did not exceed 55 individuals. Many questions arose regarding this matter, especially since immigration gangs typically do not initiate a trip with such a small number. It is known that since the beginning of migration movements, the number of passengers has often exceeded 150, and in some cases reached 300 people on a single ferry, in pursuit of significant profits that are no less than $100,000 and sometimes exceed half a million dollars.
So what are the details of this journey? Why did it set off with such a small number of passengers? According to information obtained by "Al-Akhbar," the detained boat belongs to Abdallah Ahmad Taleb and his brother Huwaidi, residents of the town of Beddawi in Akkar, who have been involved in smuggling migrants via boats and have previously prepared dozens of trips. Contrary to rumors that the last trip set off from Miniyeh, the information confirmed that it launched from the Al-Qaitah area by the sea in Akkar, and the boat was loaded on last Tuesday at two-thirty in the early morning, carrying only 40 people.
Security sources suggested that the reason for the small number of passengers was twofold: "First, to ensure a quick loading to escape the security ambush often successfully executed by the Intelligence Directorate in Akkar through beach monitoring; and second, most importantly, to compensate for the large number of migrants with a significant amount of drugs estimated at around 2 tons, packed in bags and hidden inside the boat."
Indeed, the boat was pursued after setting off from the shore by the naval forces of the Lebanese army, while those responsible for the trip quickly threw the bags of drugs into the sea before leaving the territorial waters. The following day, on Wednesday, the Lebanese Navy managed to seize the large quantity of drugs that had been discarded after another naval boat collected them and returned them to the shore. Three members of the Taleb family, the boat's owners, were arrested for questioning.
Reports had come in overnight that the boat, named "Abu Nazeer," had turned back towards Lebanese waters after reaching the territorial limits, and it was intercepted at the Al-Hari point in Chekka by the Lebanese Army Intelligence. While news spread that the boat did not continue its journey to Italy due to weather conditions, it was also said that the trip organizers chose to return because of the losses incurred from the army's seizure of the drugs. Private sources informed "Al-Akhbar" that boats being transported these days are unlikely to reach their destinations due to adverse weather conditions and are deemed suspicious given the timing of their departure amid impending risks.
