A Saudi Arabian prince and four others were arrested in a massive drug smuggling bust in Lebanon Monday after officials found two tons of pills on a private plane.
The prince, whose name was not released, and the Saudi nationals were detained and accused of attempting to transport two tons of Captagon amphetamine pills onto the Saudi Arabia-bound aircraft in what marks the largest drug bust ever conducted at the
Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to CNN.
Investigators are currently attempting to determine whether any or all of the detainees were involved specifically in the
drug bust, according to the New York Daily News.
Captagon, which had been used to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy, and depression since the 1960s, was banned by most countries during the 1980s due to its
highly addictive nature, according to the International Business Times.
“It gives you a kind of euphoria. You're talkative, you don't sleep, you don't eat, you're energetic,” said Lebanese psychiatrist Ramzi Haddad.
The private plane detained in the Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport was caught with 40 bags of the Captagon drugs, according to the New York Daily News. Further details pertaining to the incident and its aftermath are pending.
The United Nations’ Office of Drugs and Crimes released a 2014 report stating that the Middle East and southwest Asia have both seen a dramatic increase in their amphetamine markets. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria have been especially prone to increases.
This arrest in Beirut is not the first time that a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family has been accused of falling on the wrong side of the law this year. Just last month, prince Majed Abdulaziz al-Saud became entangled in an alleged sex crime after his arrest in Los Angeles, according to CNN. The prosecutors, however, ultimately declined to press felony charges against the prince.
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