Saudi Arabia Stops Fresh Produce from Lebanon over Drugs

Saudi Arabia announced Friday the suspension of fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.

The decision is a blow to Lebanon, which is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The local currency has dived by more than 85 percent on the black market, inflation is rampant and more than half the country now lives in poverty.

Authorities "have noticed increased drug smuggling activity targeting the kingdom from Lebanon... especially in vegetables and fruit consignments", the Saudi interior ministry said.

Riyadh will ban the entry or transit of those products through the kingdom from Sunday, it said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The restrictions will remain in place until Lebanon provides "sufficient and reliable guarantees" to put an end to what it called "systematic smuggling operations targeting the kingdom".

The move comes after Saudi authorities have made repeated appeals to their Lebanese counterparts on the matter, SPA said.

The agency also reported Friday that customs officials seized 5.3 million pills of captagon hidden in a consignment of "pomegranate" fruit imported from Lebanon at the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Lebanon and probably also in Syria and Iraq, mainly for consumption in Saudi Arabia, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).

Lebanese media quoted the head of the country's fruit and vegetable exporters, Naeem Khalil, as denying it was pomegranate season in Lebanon.

Khalil said the seized cargo could not have been Lebanese but had transited via Lebanon from Syria.

Lebanon's foreign ministry said it had been informed by Saudi Arabia of its decision to halt imports of fruit and vegetables, the official National News Agency reported.

Drug smuggling "harms Lebanon's economy, farmers and reputation", the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has taken a step back from its former ally, angered by the influence of Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbullah, which is backed by Riyadh's rival Tehran.