Lebanon Orders Owners Of Beirut Port Toxic Containers To Pay Over $2 Million

Lebanon Orders Owners Of Beirut Port Toxic Containers To Pay Over $2 Million
EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH

The owners of the toxic containers that were stored at the Port of Beirut have been ordered to pay the amount that the Lebanese state has incurred for them to be transported.

Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim issued the decision on Tuesday, ordering the owners of the containers that have been shipped by the German company Combi Lift, to pay more than 2 million to the state.

The amount is to be paid within a week, during which the individuals affected by the decision will be prevented from traveling. The individuals would risk being arrested if they did not pay the required amount within the designated period, according to the decision.

Combi Lift’s contract with Lebanon stipulated that the country must pay $20 million to the firm in exchange for transporting the 52 containers of hazardous material out of the Port of Beirut.

Flammable chemicals, toxic gases, self-reactive substances, and other volatile substances were targeted for clearance by the German firm.

Among the dangerous chemicals found in the Port after the August 4 Explosion was what Combi Lift’s director described as “a second Beirut bomb.”

Recently, a group of puppies was found alive in the Port, inside an acid container that Combi Lift was clearing.