'Unprecedented' Attempt to Smuggle 2 Tons of Cannabis to Libya Foiled

Lebanese authorities have foiled an “unprecedented” attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of cannabis by sea to Libya, the Internal Security Forces announced on Monday.

“Following close surveillance and investigations, the anti-narcotics bureau of the Judicial Police managed to seize and foil the smuggling of around two tons of raw hashish,” the ISF said in a statement, noting that the operation occurred on Saturday.

The quantity was “prepared for smuggling by sea to Libya inside an apple shipment,” the ISF added.

It explained that the “raw” quantity of cannabis was equivalent to the output of “more than 1,000 dunams of cultivated land, or 250 tons of processed hashish.”

The cost of the seized shipment was estimated at $7 million.

Describing the attempt as “unprecedented” in Lebanon's history, the ISF announced the arrest of the main culprit in the botched operation, identifying him as 56-year-old Syrian national A. N.

A lot of residents in the Bekaa region defend the hashish industry as their only source of employment. During Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanese hashish, which is known for its quality, fed a flourishing industry that generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year in income.

Hashish is a cannabis product derived from the resin of the plant, and produced in large quantities in the Bekaa.

Lebanon has launched several eradication campaigns, and in past years, the army bulldozed thousands of hectares of cannabis. Farmers had often taken up arms to defend their crop.

Y.R.