Report: Smugglers pack dead fish in Lebanon to sell in Syria

A load of dead carp fish scooped from along the shores of al-Qaraoun reservoir is dumped in the back of a truck at the site of the incident in Lebanon’s Western Beqaa District in the country’s east on April 29, 2021 [JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images]

Smugglers have packed tonnes of dead fish which have washed up on the banks of Lebanon’s Litani River and smuggled them to Syria to sell as “frozen fish”, Lebanese media outlets reported.

According to media reports, nearly 40 tonnes of fish have washed up on the banks of Litani River, near the Qaraoun lake, due to years of pollution and infection.

Soon after the fish died, smugglers are reported to have shown up at the river to pack them ahead of smuggling them into Syria where they would be sold as “frozen fish”.

In response, Syrian Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Talal Al-Barazi, called for tighter controls over fish and called on consumer protection directorates to test fish being sold in their markets to ensure its compliance with health specifications and conditions, and to take the legal measures against those who violate the law.

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