Lebanese security forces have shut down a warehouse linked to the recent drug shipment seized in Saudi Arabia.
State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat ordered on Monday that the warehouse, located in the Taanayel area, be sealed with red wax, according to Al-Jadeed.
This was after a patrol from the Zahle office of the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) raided the warehouse, where the pomegranate shipment that was used to smuggle drugs to Saudi Arabia had been unloaded before being shipped.
The warehouse in question is reportedly called “Coca Cola Warehouses” and rented by “A. Suleiman,” a Syrian national.
Its closure comes 3 days after Saudi Arabia announced that it would ban the import of fruits and vegetables coming from Lebanon after a pomegranate consignment containing 2.5 million amphetamine pills was seized at a Saudi port.
In light of the ban, Lebanese President Michel Aoun headed on Monday a meeting dedicated to discussing the Saudi move.
The meeting resulted in a series of measures aimed at tightening the grip on smuggling operations through Lebanese border facilities.
In addition to threatening the security of neighboring countries with drug shipments, smuggling operations from Lebanon have exacerbated the collapsing country’s economic and social crises, causing shortages of subsidized products and severe rationing of fuel.
