Lebanon charges Saudi prince in record drug bust

A public prosecutor charged 10 people, including a Saudi prince and Saudi nationals with 'smuggling and selling drugs'


Afp November 02, 2015

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities on Monday charged a Saudi prince and nine others with drug trafficking, a week after they were caught in a record drug bust, a judicial source told AFP.

Saudi prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz and four others were detained by airport security on October 26 after nearly two tons of Captagon capsules and cocaine were found waiting to be loaded onto their private plane at Beirut airport.

A public prosecutor "has charged 10 people, including five arrested individuals -- a Saudi prince and Saudi nationals... with smuggling and selling the drug Captagon," the judicial source said.

Saudi prince held in record Beirut airport drug bust

Five individuals still at large were included in the charges, including three Lebanese and two Saudi nationals, the source added.

Captagon is the brand name for the amphetamine phenethylline, a synthetic stimulant.

The banned drug is consumed mainly in the Middle East and has reportedly been widely used by fighters in Syria.

According to the judicial source, the case has been transferred to an investigative judge.

I am a prince and I do what I want, said drugged-up Saudi royal

The drug bust was "the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut International Airport," a security source told AFP last week on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia's large royal family has had past run-ins with authorities in various countries.

In September, a Saudi prince was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly trying to force a woman to perform oral sex on him at a Beverly Hills mansion.

Saudi prince al Waleed bin Talal denies making pro-Israel statements

But authorities decided not to pursue the charge, citing a lack of evidence.

In 2013, a Saudi princess was accused in Los Angeles of enslaving a Kenyan woman as a housemaid, but the charges were also eventually dropped.

COMMENTS (4)

Aman Khan | 8 years ago | Reply I do not think that the drug was meant for sale to general public thru drug dealers. It was more likely for the fighters in Syria and Yemen.
Maher | 8 years ago | Reply Now Democracy will come in Lebanon soon...
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ