Lebanon, under Syrian control, today imports the raw material for the production of cocaine and heroin

Folks, did you know that Lebanon, which is under Syrian control ( in reality, Syria occupies Lebanon, which oddly, no one in the Muslim world objects to), today imports the raw material for the production of cocaine and heroin?

There are two central routes for the import of raw material to Lebanon:

1. The Latin-American route (Colombia, Peru, Brazil, etc.), through which Lebanese emigrants in the region import the hydro-chloride cocaine, used in the manufacture of cocaine.
2. The second route is the Far East ("the Golden Triangle") and Turkey, from where Lebanon imports basic morphine (used to produce heroin), via Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Syria.

The manufacture of heroin and cocaine is done in dozens of small, hard to detect, laboratories - which are spread out over the Bekaa Valley, particularly in the center and north of the valley. The drugs produced in Lebanon are marketed through a professional network of drug smugglers to the Middle East (including Israel), to the Arab countries and the West. Marketing of the drugs from Lebanon is carried out directly from the airports and seaports (Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon) or via Syria, which facilitates the transfer of the raw material brought into Lebanon and serves as an outlet for the marketing of the drugs.

The criminal networks involved in the producing and marketing of drugs and the forging of American dollars and European bank-notes are active in the regions under Hizballah's control and it is estimated that the forging operation is carried out with Iran's blessing.

The State Department's report for 1996 states that the laboratories producing heroin in the Bekaa Valley are located in areas largely controlled by elements of Hizballah and would generally require a large and concentrated effort to root them out.

Sources: Many, including Osama: The Heroin Pusher, Hizbollah's Drug Link