Lebanon arrests, interrogates Saudi prince for carrying drugs

A member of the Saudi royal family and four others were detained after authorities discovered two tons of drugs on a private jet in Beirut on Monday, according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency and a government official.

A Saudi prince was detained at Beirut airport on Monday following one of the largest drug smuggling attempts in the country.

Captagon is the brand name for the amphetamine phenelhylline, a synthetic stimulant known for psychoactive and stimulant effects.

A Saudi prince has been arrested after two tonnes of amphetamines were seized before they were due to be loaded onto his private jet in Lebanon, it has been revealed. Reports have shown that it is widely used by fighters in Syria, allowing them to stay alert during battles.

It said the five Saudi nationals held were being questioned.

Lebanese security forces foiled an effort to smuggle 15 million Captagon pills concealed in shipping containers filled with corn from the seaport in Beirut, in accordance with AFP.

The drugs are reportedly the Takfiri Daesh militants’ favorite narcotics.

A recent United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report said that the market for such drugs is continuing to grow in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria are among the most popular destinations for the amphetamines, the report found. Last month, Prince Majed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al was arrested in Los Angeles.

In 2013, a Saudi princess accused of enslaving a Kenyan woman as a housemaidalso eventually had the charges dropped against her.