As the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion continues, more than 5 months on, Lebanon is now seeking to get hold of the Portuguese ammonium nitrate trader linked to the deadly shipment brought to the port years ago.
The Lebanese State Prosecution is reportedly preparing a file to bring in and try the Portuguese trader, Jorge Manuel Mirra Neto Moreira, who had bought the ammonium nitrate shipment that exploded in Beirut on August 4th, 2020, a judicial source told Al-Anbaa newspaper.
State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Khoury, who handles all external procedures and correspondence related to the Beirut Port explosion, is finalizing the file of Moreira’s extradition from Portugal.
Source: LBCI
The source said Khoury “is placing the final touches” on the extradition request after he was informed that the Portuguese Interpol had interrogated Moreira based on the arrest warrant issued by the judicial investigator, which turned into a Red Notice.
The judge began this procedure as soon as he was informed that the Portuguese judiciary had seized the trader’s passport, pending a Lebanese request for his extradition.
The move comes nearly 2 weeks after Interpol issued Red Notices for Moreira and the owner and captain of the MV Rhosus ship that carried ammonium nitrate to the Port of Beirut several years ago.
In related news, last week, 2 British MPs called for an investigation into a company registered in the UK that may be linked to the blast.
