Lebanon’s arrested “Captagon King” Hassan Daqo was involved in the smuggling of the “largest drug shipment in the world,” said caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi on Wednesday.
The thwarted shipment included 94.8 million Captagon pills weighing around 16 tons and worth $1.26 billion. (Note: Contrary to Fahmi’s statement, there have been larger drug busts).
It was, however, the largest drug bust in Malaysia’s history, which is where it was seized in March this year with the help of Saudi Arabia’s Directorate General of Narcotics Control.
Fahmi said the shipment was destined for Saudi Arabia but did not go into details about the extent of Hassan Daqo’s involvement in the massive drug shipment.
It has been reported, however, that Daqo has ties with several political parties in Lebanon, namely Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), and the Future Movement. Local media reports claim that he has good relations with Syria as well.
Additionally, there are clues linking the son of a prominent Hezbollah figure, known to be one of its founders, to Daqo, although Hezbollah denies involvement.
Daqo was arrested in April on suspicion of his involvement in the recent drug-in-pomegranates bust that prompted Saudi Arabia to ban fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon.
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