Trafficker Smuggled Drugs To Jail In Sunflower Seeds

A drug runner who tried to smuggle narcotic pills into jail hidden inside sunflower seed husks has been seized by police in Lebanon.

Prison officials in Batroun were suspicious of packages of the seeds being brought to an inmate as a snack.

And when they opened the three bags, they found Captagon and Artane pills hidden inside seed husks which were then painstakingly stuck back together.

The 25-year-old suspect and his packages were seized, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) revealed on Tuesday, 7th March.

Both the courier and the inmate he was bringing the drugs to are being investigated.

Lebanon's ISF officials say they have also thwarted two drug smuggling operations with more than 960,000 Captagon pills seized.

They also confiscated 208 kilogrammes (458 lbs) of hashish.

Lebanese authorities have strengthened their efforts to battle drug trafficking.

Just last November, the ISF seized more than five million Captagon pills in the town of Ghazieh, South Lebanon.

Captagon is often described as a type of amphetamine which also gives the user enhance confidence and aggression.

Artane is normally used a muscle relaxant for victims of Parkinson's disease but is said to be used to relieve stress.

Both have become the drugs of choice among youth in Gulf Arab states after they were used and traded by Islamic State fighters in the mid-2010s.