Captagon shipment disrupted: Largest drug seizure in northern Lebanon

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

Lebanese security forces seized eight million captagon pills hidden in a warehouse in northern Lebanon, marking one of the country's largest drug busts in recent months.
 
The Internal Security Forces (ISF)'s anti-narcotics bureau raided a storage facility in the town of Bakhaoun in the Danniyeh region, where the drugs were being prepared for packaging and export. The warehouse was located beneath a house under renovation belonging to a man identified by A.S., who was arrested along with an accomplice from the Sh. family, police said.

Investigators said the shipment had been received in northern Lebanon before being transferred to Bakhaoun for smuggling abroad. 

According to information obtained by LBCI, Saudi Arabia had intercepted a previous shipment of narcotics and shared intelligence about preparations for another disguised consignment, prompting Lebanese authorities to act.

Officials are working to determine whether the seized pills originated in Lebanon or were smuggled from Syria. The suspects and the confiscated drugs were transferred to Beirut for a central investigation under the supervision of Prosecutor General Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar.
 
The Bakhaoun municipality stressed that the operation was an isolated incident, holding the individuals involved fully responsible.