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Conflict Incident Report

Airport authorities arrest drug mule

Date of incident: 
May 20, 2017
Death toll: 
0persons
Number of Injured: 
0persons
Actors/Parties Involved: 
Syrian Civilians/Refugees
Beirut Airport Security (BAS)
Internal Security Forces (ISF)
Lebanese Customs

Authorities at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport arrested a man trying to enter the country after they discovered he had swallowed 28 cocaine-filled condoms, amounting to 1 kg of the drug. The state-run National News Agency reported that customs officers at the airport, in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces’ Anti-Drug Bureau, arrested the suspect as he arrived from Ecuador.

Customs confirmed the incident Sunday, identifying the suspect as Syrian national M.Aa. He was questioned in the presence of Customs Director-General Badri Daher and admitted to hospital for medical examinations and to have the drugs extracted from his stomach.

Primary category: 
Arrest/Detention
Secondary Category: 
Illicit Trade/Trafficking/Smuggling
Classification of conflict (primary): 
Power & governance conflicts
Violent or non-violent conflicts associated with antagonisms related to internal political tensions between local and/or national groups and parties. These tensions may be encouraged by internal, regional and international parties. Such conflicts are characterized by their defiance and/or opposition to central State power and governance.