Judicial Sources: No Lebanese Involved in Ship Allegedly Carrying Arms to Syria

Investigations into the Lebanese navy’s interception of weapons reportedly destined for Syrian rebels showed that no Lebanese national was involved in the case, judicial sources said Sunday.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that investigators are trying to find out the exact destination of the arms that were stashed in three containers aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Lutfallah II ship.

Lutfallah II was stopped by the navy off the northern coast on Friday and towed to the port of Selaata and then to the navy base in Beirut.

The eleven-member crew – eight Syrians, two Egyptians and an Indian - and the ship’s agent were arrested.

Reports said the vessel had left Libya and was heading to the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli to unload the arms that would be later transferred to Syria on land.

It sailed first to Turkey and then to the Egyptian port of Alexandria before heading for Tripoli.

According to al-Hayat, the three containers weighed around 150 tons and included Kalashnikov rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades in addition to goggles and military wear.

But the judicial sources denied that the containers included anti-armor rockets.

A Lebanese army communiqué issued on Saturday did not specify the type of the seized arms, only saying that the containers included a large number of light, medium and heavy weapons and ammunition.

The Syrian regime has repeatedly said that weapons are being smuggled from Lebanon to arm the rebel Free Syrian Army.