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A Saudi prince was detained at the Beirut airport on Monday following one of the largest drug smuggling attempts in the country.
Saudi Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz and four other Saudi citizens have been detained in one of Lebanon’s largest drug busts, according to local media and security sources cited by the Telegraph. Authorities at the Beirut airport seized 2.2 tons (2 metric tons) of an amphetamine called fenethylline, along with some cocaine, before the drugs were loaded onto the prince’s private jet.
Illegal amphetamines — also known as speed or uppers — have surged in popularity across the Middle East in recent years, especially in Saudi Arabia, where authorities have seized more amphetamines than in any other country, according to the United Nation’s Office of Crime and Drugs. In 2011, nearly 40 percent of the amphetamines seized in the world came from Saudi Arabia.
Almost all of the amphetamines seized in Saudi Arabia are in the form of Captagon pills, the brand name form of fenethylline, a synthetic stimulant used to treat attention deficit disorders.
Captagon has been illegal in the county since 1986, but addiction rates have surged over the past decade, according to Time. Drugs are taboo in the conservative Muslim country, and treatment is not openly available or even discussed, contributing to the rise in addiction.
The amphetamines allegedly found on the Saudi prince’s plane were said to be fenethylline.
Saudi Arabia’s amphetamine problem has persisted despite the fact that the country has some of the harshest drug laws in the world. Drug use is punishable by death, often carried out through public beheadings, according to a recent report by Amnesty International. The vast majority of death sentences for crimes other than homicide in Saudi Arabia are for drug-related charges, including drug possession, according to Amnesty.
It’s not immediately clear what punishment the prince will face if he is convicted.
Agencies/Canadajournal
