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Tunnel to trafficking: Lebanese Army cracks down on hidden narcotics lab in Yammoune
Tunnel to trafficking: Lebanese Army cracks down on hidden narcotics lab in Yammoune

LBCI

time5 days ago

  • LBCI

Tunnel to trafficking: Lebanese Army cracks down on hidden narcotics lab in Yammoune

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Mariella Succar On a hilltop in Yammoune, the Lebanese Army uncovered a Captagon and crystal meth lab that mirrors the methods of South American drug cartels. The 300-meter tunnel isn't beneath a border between Mexico and the U.S. — it's in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. From the outside, only buildings and rooms are visible. On the inside, the tunnel conceals equipment behind hidden passageways and electronically controlled tile-covered walls, leading to what the Army called the largest Captagon and crystal meth lab it has ever seized. The tunnel was only part of the operation. What appeared to be tiled walls were in fact disguised doors, opening onto rooms filled with drug-making machinery and chemicals. After surveillance and infiltration, army intelligence traced the facility producing Captagon for export and crystal meth for local distribution. Other drugs were also found, along with machines originally intended for legal industries but repurposed for narcotics production. The lab is believed to be the largest discovered to date. He had reportedly brought in a foreign expert wanted by Interpol — known for developing unique formulas — and engineers to design the facility and build the tunnel. The Army destroyed part of the equipment, sealed the tunnel, and confiscated large quantities of drugs. The operation marked another blow by military intelligence to a trade that has dragged Lebanon into a dangerous crisis and strained its ties with friendly nations.

Lebanese army destroys major captagon and crystal meth lab, seals off tunnel
Lebanese army destroys major captagon and crystal meth lab, seals off tunnel

Arab News

time5 days ago

  • Arab News

Lebanese army destroys major captagon and crystal meth lab, seals off tunnel

The Lebanese army has dismantled what it described as one of the largest captagon pill-manufacturing labs discovered to date in Yammoune in the Baalbek region of eastern Lebanon. Army chiefs said on Monday that forces raided the facility 24 hours earlier. 'After the Intelligence Directorate obtained information about a major captagon pill lab in the town of Yammoune, a patrol from the directorate, supported by a unit from the army, carried out a raid on the lab,' it said. 'The personnel dismantled the equipment and machinery used, weighing about 10 tonnes, and destroyed part of it.' The patrol also 'seized a huge quantity of captagon pills, crystal meth, and various other narcotic substances.' Army chiefs added: 'The lab contained a tunnel used for entry and exit, and army personnel brought in a bulldozer and filled in the tunnel, which was approximately 300 meters long.' The tunnel was 'also used to store part of the lab's equipment.' The statement did not reveal who was operating the lab or whether anyone was arrested during the raid. 'The seized materials are now in the custody of the security agencies,' it said. 'An investigation has begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary, and efforts are ongoing to arrest those involved.'

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