Saudi Prince Charged with Drug Smuggling in Lebanon

Lebanese prosecutors have charged a Saudi prince and nine other people with drug smuggling, a week after a record seizure at Beirut’s airport.

The prince was not named, but Abd al-Muhsen bin Walid bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud was detained on October 26 in Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The prince was about to conduct a flight on his private plane to Saudi Arabia.

He and four other Saudis were arrested after two tonnes of Captagon pills were found in cases being loaded on a private jet.

The others charged in the case – three Lebanese and two Saudis – are at large.

Captagon pills, which typically contain amphetamine and caffeine, are consumed widely in the Middle East.

The drug has helped fuel the conflict in Syria, generating millions of dollars in revenue for producers inside the country as well as being used by combatants to help them keep fighting.