Drugs Seized From Saudi Prince (Photo : Twitter/@nasseratta5)
Saudi princes are misbehaving one after the other. After one was sued in September in the U.S. for rape, another was detained on Sunday at Beirut Airport after he was caught with two tons of amphetamine. The drugs popular among Syrian rebels was found in the private jet of Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz.
Besides the royal, Beirut airport authorities also arrested four other men. They described the bust as the largest drug haul at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, reports The Telegraph.
They were caught with two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine. Captagon is the brand name of a popular amphetamine phenethylline. The drug used to be prescribed as treatment for childhood and other behavioral disorders, it is more used as a stimulant in the Middle East.
Because it provides users a heightened state of alertness, front-line fighters in Syria prefer it, both the pro-government soldiers and jihadists of the Islamic State. Captagon is now made in Syria and smuggled through Lebanon for distribution to other Middle Eastern markets.
Airport authorities found the illegal drugs hidden in 40 suitcases.
According to Foreign Policy, it is not the first time that a Saudi royal was accused of drug smuggling. In 1999, Saudi Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz Al Shaalan allegedly slipped into France two tonnes of cocaine from Venezuela. It was also hidden inside the royal family's private jet.
He escaped sentencing but was convicted in absentia in 2007. The prince was also indicted by the U.S. for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Prince Nayef is believed to be living in Saudi Arabia under legal shelter.
While Saudi Arabia imposes harsh punishment for violators of its Sharia law, including executing foreigners and non-royal citizens for lesser offenses, the 15,000 princes and princesses of the royal House of Saud are apparently not covered by these law, notes Foreign Policy.
