& Leen Alfaisal DUBAI -- Lebanese police intercepted around 25 ton of drugs in an eight-truck convoy that were set to be smuggled to an African country, Lebanese security forces said on Friday. Security forces closely monitored the situation for around a month, and on March 16, they halted the drug trade. The convoy carried thousands of nylon bags containing agricultural soil. The operation was thwarted when the convoy was searched near the port. Around 25 ton of hash were retrieved from the smugglers. Distributed in the bags, each contained 100-150 kg. Types of hash were cheekily named, including "Ah ya Hanan" – named after a hit song that went viral in the Arab World – and "Kiki do you love me." The Lebanese security forces say that the amounts captured are the biggest in the history of Lebanon, and that the drugs had been prepared for trade, advertising, and smuggling out of Lebanon. "The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the relevant jurisdiction, and we are continuously working on capturing whoever was involved." Authorities do not yet know who is responsible for the attempted smuggling. Hezbollah, however has a history of illicitly moving drugs and weapons around the Arab World and to other regions, including the US, Europe, and Latin America. In 2008, the US Drug Enforcement Administration believed that Hezbollah was collecting $1 billion annually from drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal activities. -- Al Arabiya English
