Saudi prince detained at Beirut airport following massive drug smuggling attempt

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.

Abd al-Muhsen bin Walid bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud was detained on Monday at the Rafik Hariri worldwide Airport in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, while in possession of 24 bags and eight suitcases full of narcotics. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was authorized to give official statements.

The image of the Royal family of Saudi Arabia was also tainted by another Saudi Prince and a Princess in the past.

Captagon pills, which usually include caffeine and amphetamine, are consumed extensively in the Middle East.

Captagon is the brand name for the amphetamine phenethylline, and is manufactured in large quantities in Lebanon and Syria, where it has reportedly been widely used by combatants in that country’s civil war.

It said the five Saudi nationals held were being questioned.

Investigators said they found 40 bags of Captagon Amphetamine pills and a few cocaine aboard the plane, which was about to depart for the northern Saudi city of Hael.

In April 2014, Lebanese officials thwarted an attempt to traffic 15 million units of Captagon that were being hid in a Beirut port via shipping containers that were filled with corn. But authorities decided not to pursue the charge, citing a lack of evidence.