Lebanon charges Saudi prince with drug trafficking
A Saudi prince, who was arrested with two tonnes of amphetamines in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, has been charged with drug trafficking, a judicial source says.
The judicial source told AFP on Monday that Lebanese authorities "charged 10 people, including five arrested individuals -- a Saudi prince and four Saudi nationals... with smuggling and selling the drug Captagon."
The source also noted that the other five individuals are from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and are still at large.
Saudi prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was arrested with four others at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on October 26, after security officials found two tonnes of pills branded as Captagon, which were due to be loaded onto a private jet.
The drugs were packed in 40 suitcases and the plane was to head to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The judicial source also said that the case was sent to an investigative judge.
The Lebanese officials said they managed to foil the largest drug smuggling operation in Lebanon’s history.
The confiscated drugs are of the type mainly used by Takfiri militants in Syria.
Some other members of Saudi royal family have also faced legal problems in other countries, though they managed to escape prosecutions.
In September, Saudi prince Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud was arrested at a compound near Beverly Hills in Los Angles on accusation of trying to force a worker to perform a sex act.
The 28-year-old Saudi prince, however, was freed later on a USD 300,000 bail. The US authorities later said they would not pursue the charge due to a lack of evidence.
Also in September, Saudi diplomat Majed Hassan Ashoor sparked outrage by leaving India without facing justice over alleged sex crimes. He was accused of involvement in the rape, assault, torture and starvation of two Nepalese women held captive for over three months.
In 2013, a Saudi princess was also accused of enslaving a Kenyan woman as a housemaid in her house in Los Angeles. Her charges were later dropped.
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