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Former Lebanese Minister of the Interior Ahmad Fatfat said that Hassan Nasrallah has become a drug smuggler "on a global level" and is now the Pablo Escobar of Lebanon. He made his remarks in response to a Saudi ban on the import of produce transported through Lebanon or originating in Lebanon, following the smuggling of a large quantity of drugs in a shipment of pomegranates from Lebanon. Fatfat said in an interview which aired on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) on April 26, 2021 that smugglers who bring drugs into Saudi Arabia in shipments of produce are committing a crime against the security of Saudi Arabia, and therefore against the security of all Arab countries. He added that Lebanon is under "Iranian occupation enforced completely by Hizbullah" and referred to a recent interview with Hizbullah affiliated Sheikh Sadek Al-Naboulsi, who said that smuggling is part of the resistance (see MEMRI TV clip no. 8793). Fatfat also said that this issue should be confronted by Lebanon, the Arabs, and internationally, and that there should be "real action" in order to rescue Lebanon and the region from the "plague of Hizbullah." For more information about Ahmad Fatfat, see MEMRI TV clips Nos. 8745 and 8134.
Ahmad Fatfat: "I hail from Danniyeh, which is an agricultural area in northern Lebanon. This area relies on agriculture and on the export of produce to the Gulf countries. Therefore, [the smuggling of drugs in produce shipments from Lebanon to KSA] is a real crime by the smugglers against the security of Saudi Arabia, which is the security of [all] Arabs. We care about the security of Saudi Arabia like we care about the security of Lebanon. So we understand the counter measures taken by Saudi Arabia. The problem is that we are now living under real occupation of our country – an Iranian occupation enforced completely by Hizbullah. A few days ago, there was an interview with Sheikh [Sadek] Al-Naboulsi, a professor at the Lebanese University who is also a member of Hizbullah, and he said that smuggling is part of the resistance.
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"Lebanon is being used as a platform for smuggling from Iran and Syria. There is also smuggling that originates in Lebanon. We do not deny that there are Captagon factories in Lebanon as well. By coincidence, the Lebanese army discovered this afternoon a Captagon factory. It was a small factory, but it was there. It was located in the Sharawna neighborhood in Baalbek, which is under the political and security control of Hizbullah. The Captagon factories are on both sides of the Syrian-Lebanese border.
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"This needs to be confronted by Lebanon, as well as by the Arabs. There should also be an international confrontation. We must not make do with mere slogans. There should be real action on all levels, in order to rescue not just Lebanon, but the entire region from this great plague, which is called Hizbullah. Hassan Nasrallah has become the [Pablo] Escobar of Lebanon. He has become a [drug] smuggler on a global level."
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