Army seizes another guns truck at Tripoli port

The Lebanese Army has seized a second truck carrying pistols smuggled from Turkey into the country.

“The Intelligence Directorate has seized at the Port of Tripoli a truck carrying 400 smuggled pistols that were concealed in it while also arresting its driver,” the army said in a statement.

“Investigations are underway to identify their destination and arrest the rest of the culprits,” the army added.

According to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, the weapons were confiscated after the truck crossed the customs checkpoint at the port.

“It was not searched and it did not cross the (customs’) scanner,” the daily added, revealing that “there is a ‘rule’ at the port under which trucks carrying oils and coming from Turkey do not undergo inspection and no not get scanned.”

“The truck belongs to a trader other than the trader whose shipment was seized in Batroun,” Nidaa al-Watan said.

A truck carrying oils went up in flames Monday in the Batroun town of Basbina after which it turned out that it was carrying 304 smuggled pistols, the army said on Tuesday.

A senior judicial source told Agence France Presse on Monday that the first truck belonged to a Palestinian resident of the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon.

The source added that the guns arrived aboard a ship that also came from Turkey.