Security forces “seize 20 tons of dope” in Bekaa Valley
Around 20 tons of cannabis in 25 trucks were seized on Sunday in the Bekaa Valley, a security services official told AFP. "Twenty-five trucks carrying about 20 tons of cannabis were seized on Sunday at Deir al-Ahmar" as part of an anti-drug operation launched on Thursday by the security services, the official said.
Three other vehicles loaded with a total of more than 2 tons of drugs were seized on Saturday in the same operation, along with equipment for processing hashish, he said. Several people have been arrested, the official added.
The Bekaa has long been known as fertile territory for narcotics, which flourished into a multi-billion dollar industry during the 1975-1990 Civil War. Illegal cultivation diminished for a while but has expanded again in recent years after the failure of alternative crop programs.
The number of eradication campaigns has expanded but people in charge of destroying illicit plants are often threatened by traffickers.