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Lebanon thwarts smuggling of 500 million counterfeit dollars

June 19, 2021 at 11:53 am

A one hundred US dollar banknote sits on top of Lebanese pound banknotes in this arranged photograph in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 21, 2020 [Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg via Getty Image]

Lebanese authorities announced on Friday the thwarting of half a billion in counterfeit US dollars through Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, Arabi21 reported.

In a statement, the internal security services confirmed that its customs staff at the airport had foiled the smuggling of $480 million in counterfeit US dollars.

The money was hidden in the luggage of three Lebanese citizens who were heading for Turkey.

According to the statement, the counterfeit money was seized by the Office of Anti-Financial and Money Laundering Crimes.

The three Lebanese citizens were detained and will be subjected to further investigation.