BEIRUT: Lebanon has vowed to punish drug smugglers after massive quantities of narcotics were intercepted and seized by Saudi Arabia and Greece.
Saudi authorities on Friday reported foiling an attempt to smuggle millions of amphetamine pills stashed in a pomegranate shipment from Lebanon at Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port. It said that five people involved in the case were arrested, four citizens and an expatriate.
There was another interception of a pomegranate shipment, also from Lebanon and also containing drugs, in Jeddah.
Shortly after the Saudi statement, Greek authorities announced seizing four tons of cannabis hidden in dessert-making machinery at Piraeus that was en route from Lebanon to Slovakia. The value of the drugs was estimated to be around €33 million ($39 million).
Saudi Arabia Bans Import of Lebanese Produce Over Drug Busts
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Saudi Arabia bans Lebanese produce because of drug smuggling
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Saudi bans Lebanese produce because of drug smuggling
April 23, 2021
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BEIRUT (AP) Saudi Arabia will ban Lebanese fruits and vegetables entering the kingdom or passing through it because those shipments have been increasingly used to smuggle drugs, the official news agency reported Friday.
The ban, ordered by the kingdom s Interior Ministry, will begin Sunday April 25, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry said it is aware of the decision. It said smuggling and shipping drugs “is damaging to the Lebanese economy, to the Lebanese farmers and to Lebanon s reputation.” It called on Lebanese customs authorities to increase checks and inspections of shipments leaving the country.