Lebanon seizes 11kg of cocaine, as crackdown on smuggling begins

Lebanese security forces announced the detention of a suspected drug smuggler at Beirut airport today, a day after Lebanon pledged to crack down on the crime to persuade Saudi Arabia to lift its ban on Lebanese fruit and vegetables, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia imposed the produce ban last week after saying it had seized a large haul of the illegal stimulant Captagon stuffed inside pomegranates coming from Lebanon. It said such smuggling was on the rise.

Other Gulf Arab states have issued statements in support of the Saudi ban, raising fears in Lebanon, which faces an unprecedented economic crisis, that they may follow suit.

The Beirut airport security forces said the detained man was trying to smuggle 11 kilogrammes of cocaine into the country on a Qatar Airways flight from Brazil.

READ: Kuwait ups monitoring of Lebanon produce after drug smuggling attempts