Officials detain suspect who had previously served a six-year sentence for drug smuggling
Lebanese authorities said they had detained a man caught with about 8kg of cocaine at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
The man, a Brazilian national with Lebanese origins, had sought to conceal the drugs in a hidden compartment in his suitcase.
He had previously served a six-year sentence in a Lebanese prison on drug trafficking charges and was released in 2022.
Drug busts are relatively common at Lebanon’s only international airport, with authorities stepping up efforts to crack down on the trade in recent years amid pressure from countries in the Gulf.
In January, airport authorities stopped two Brazilian travellers who had ingested 2kg of cocaine in more than 150 capsules.
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