ISF Arrests Syrian Sea Captain for Smuggling Drugs to Europe, N. Africa

A Syrian shipmaster has been arrested in Beirut on charges of smuggling narcotics to Europe, Egypt and Libya.

The 44-year-old sea captain was apprehended in the Corniche al-Mazraa district by agents from the central anti-narcotics bureau of the Internal Security Forces, according to an ISF statement issued on Wednesday.

The communique said the man has “a long record of smuggling drugs from Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey to European countries, Libya and Egypt through the Mediterranean Sea.”

The ISF said the captain was arrested after “extensive investigations” that had led around a month ago to the seizure of almost two tons of hashish in Beirut and around 5.3 tons of hashish in Egypt's Damietta.

“Following authorization from the relevant judicial authorities, a unit from the bureau raided his place in Beirut's Corniche al-Mazraa area – where he had been hiding since the aforementioned quantity of drugs was seized – and managed to arrest him,” the ISF added.

“During interrogation, he confessed to the charges and confirmed his involvement in several smuggling operations via the Mediterranean Sea,” it revealed.

The most notable operation was “the smuggling of 17 tons of hashish that were seized by the Spanish navy in March 2014.”

“At the time, he denied his involvement in his testimony before Spanish interrogators and was eventually released. He later came to Lebanon to continue his smuggling operations,” the ISF said in its statement.

It added that a probe got underway in Lebanon under the judiciary's supervision and that “efforts are underway to arrest his accomplices.”

Y.R.