7 Kgs of Drugs Seized at Airport as Khalil Orders Probe into Imported Goods
Customs authorities at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport have seized seven kilograms of drugs over the past few days, as a probe showed the presence of a quantity of items that bypassed customs procedures, the Customs Administration said.
“The airport's Customs department foiled an attempt to smuggle four kilos of a narcotic substance in the form of white powder into the country, referring the quantity to the Central Anti-Narcotics Bureau in Beirut,” the Customs Administration announced in a statement.
It said the move was part of “measures devised by Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to activate the work of Customs agents and toughen the inspection of imported and exported goods.”
In a separate incident, 20 parcels of narcotics in the form of white powder were seized before being shipped to the Saudi city of Dammam, the statement added. It estimated the weight of the drugs at 3,120 grams.
Separately, the statement revealed that Khalil had on Monday asked the Customs director general to “form a panel of monitors at the airport's two inspection departments in order to examine suspicious goods.”
As a result of the investigation, the panel discovered “20 parcels of dietary supplements containing 5,909 packages not carrying any information about the country of origin.”
It also found several parcels containing clothes, electronic devices and hard disk drives, some carrying the labels of famous brands.
“The customs duties will be recollected according to the norms,” the statement said.
The minister also ordered the creation of another panel of inquiry to inspect 114 parcels of goods “that are suspicious in terms of the declared brands.”
Khalil's measures are part of a major campaign he had launched around two months ago to curb corruption at Beirut's airport and port and at the real estate registries.
Y.R.
M.T.
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