BEIRUT, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar said on Wednesday that the country foiled a large-scale drug trafficking operation thanks to intelligence cooperation with Saudi Arabia, seizing over eight million Captagon pills and arresting three suspects.
Al-Hajjar said the shipment was en route to Kuwait. Based on information shared by Saudi authorities, Lebanon's Anti-Narcotics Bureau was able to trace the source, raid storage facilities in northern Lebanon, and seize the pills worth more than 90 million U.S. dollars.
"The preparations were underway to smuggle this massive quantity to Gulf countries," Al-Hajjar said, emphasizing Lebanon's determination to stop its territory from being exploited for drug trafficking targeting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Gulf states.
The minister added that investigations are still ongoing.
Al-Hajjar highlighted that Lebanon's security cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is both "active and crucial." He added that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has pledged to strengthen this collaboration further through his engagements with Gulf leaders, underscoring Beirut's commitment to protecting its own society as well as that of its Arab partners.
"We will not allow these toxic substances to infiltrate our communities or the communities of our brotherly Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," Al-Hajjar affirmed. ■
