Lebanese authorities have intercepted millions of pills of the recreational drug captagon hidden inside fake oranges in a real fruit shipment.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Wednesday customs officers had seized "nearly 9 million captagon tablets" at Beirut's port, noting that the cargo was heading for a Gulf country.
Captagon — a mix of amphetamines also known as the "poor man's cocaine" — is one of the more popular recreational drugs among affluent youth in the Middle East.
It is manufactured mostly in Lebanon and Syria, much of it is bound for illegal recreational use in Saudi Arabia.
A customs officer confirmed to AFP that the latest seizure was en route to Kuwait.
An investigation has been opened to determine its source.
Lebanon -- which is suffering political paralysis and economic crisis -- has boosted efforts to thwart captagon trafficking through its ports following criticism from Gulf countries over lack of cooperation.
This was the second regional seizure in a week of captagon hidden in fruit.
On December 23, Dubai police said they arrested four men "of Arab nationality" for trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of captagon into the United Arab Emirates.
The more than 1 million pills were concealed in plastic lemons among a shipment of real lemons.
Saudi Arabia announced in April the suspension of fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon after the seizure of more than 5 million captagon pills hidden in fruit.
Captagon is a brand name for the amphetamine-type stimulant fenethylline.
The counterfeit version of the drug often contains amphetamine, alongside caffeine and other substances.
According to a European Union-funded report by the Center for Operational Analysis and Research, captagon exports from Syria reached a market value of at least $US3.46 billion [$4.77 billion] in 2020.
In November, the Syrian army said it seized half a tonne of captagon concealed in a spaghetti shipment before it could be smuggled out of the country.
AFP/Reuters
