Beirut - An elderly woman was caught trying to smuggle 31
kilograms of cocaine into Lebanon by the customs department at
Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on Friday, the finance
ministry said.
Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil called it "the largest-ever cocaine
smuggling operation" in the country, adding on Twitter that the
suspect had come to Beirut from Venezuela via France.
Airport customs in the Lebanese capital "seized a large quantity of
31 kilograms of net cocaine hidden in the luggage of an old
Venezuelan woman who is about 80 years old," a statement from the
finance ministry statement said.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese News Agency (NNA) said a Saudi prince was
also arrested at Beirut airport on suspicion of carrying drugs.
The prince reportedly refused to be inspected at first by security
and was subsequently arrested.
But the prince was later released after being questioned, judicial
sources said without giving details.