Photos with Lebanon’s drug lord embarrass Hezbollah

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Drug trafficker Nouh Zaaiter poses with a group of Hezbollah fighters. Photo uploaded to Twitter
Drug trafficker Nouh Zaaiter poses with a group of Hezbollah fighters. Zaaiter is the undisputed king of cannabis .Photo uploaded to Twitter

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been struggling to explain itself after its fighters were caught rubbing shoulders with one of the country’s biggest drug traffickers. The photos showing Nouh Zaaiter posing with fighters for the influential Shiite party have gone viral on social media networks.

The photos were first uploaded to a number of social media accounts on September 13. They’re described as having been taken in the region of Qalamoun in western Syria, where Hezbollah fighters have been battling Syrian rebel groups alongside forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Zaaiter, clearly aware of the camera, doesn’t hesitate to pose with the fighters. He can be seen talking with soldiers, manning an anti-air battery and even aiming a machine gun from behind a barricade.

Zaaiter hails from a powerful Shiite clan. He’s also the subject of dozens of arrest warrants for crimes that range from drug trafficking to kidnapping and arms trafficking. However, the drug-runner reportedly has considerable political backing.

These embarrassing photos have put Hezbollah on the defensive, especially since the party has been accused of being implicated in a global drug ring in the past. The day after the photos were published online, the party denied any link with Zaaiter by posting a statement on its website: “These photos weren’t taken in positions held by the Islamic resistance or by Hezbollah’s Mujahideen [Editor’s note: fighters]. This doesn’t involve us in any way.”

Apparently displeased with Hezbollah’s flat-out denial, Zaaiter published a second series of images himself, showing him posing alongside some of the party’s top military brass. In one photo, he can be seen standing with the chief of Baalbek district, Houssein Nasrallah.

Nouh Zairar with the chief of Lebanon’s Baalbek district, Houssein Nasrallah. Photos published Twitter.
Nouh Zairar with the chief of Lebanon’s Baalbek district, Houssein Nasrallah. Photos published Twitter.

The drug trafficker then took to the airwaves to vent his outrage. Speaking on the Al-Jadeed TV network, he told viewers that “many people visit the fighters and publish photos taken with them. Why are they denying my presence there? My family and I are part of the resistance. We are people of honour. They must stop calling me a drug lord.”

Yet not far from his stronghold of Al-Knaissa, a village close to the Syrian border, Zaaiter is the undisputed king of cannabis. He oversees dozens of hectares of plantations that he hasn’t hesitated to show off to local TV channels in the past. Whether he’s in Al-Knaissa or further afield, Zaaiter is always accompanied by a dozen or so armed men.

Last June, he announced the creation of his own militia force to support Hezbollah units fighting jihadist groups in the Beqaa valley on the Syrian border. Recently, he’s challenged the country’s authorities to legalise marijuana for six months, pledging in return to “pay all the government’s debts [Editor’s note: around 32 billion euros]”. Some media outlets estimate that Zaaiter could be sitting on a fortune worth several hundred million dollars.
France24/AFP

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13 responses to “Photos with Lebanon’s drug lord embarrass Hezbollah”

  1. photos help
    at least now we know the source of Hezbollah drugs

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Everybody knows …nobody acts … sounds like the UN reports on ‘functionality’.
      It’s the ‘Garbage Solution’.

  2. Reasonableman Avatar
    Reasonableman

    Strange country, has no problem dropping bombs on civilian populated areas in tripoli, but has a problem dropping fuel and lighting up hectares full of cannabis.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      “This doesn’t involve us in any way.” …. Which could come from most of the Politicians who keep their ‘Clans’ in separate little villages even if they are supposed to be ‘part’ of a country named for a mountain.
      Naturally, this must be a ‘true statement’ if the ‘soldiers’, easily identified in pictures and videos, are not arrested and tried for the crime of at least ‘fraternization with’ while ignoring the ‘Arrest Warrants’ handed out by the judiciary of the country. But then, ‘Resistance’ is the ‘By Line’.

  3. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    what is for Hezbollah to hide if it’s for cannabis then that’s another big income for them. Denying it? thanks Zaaiter for being honest at least the thug and a murder who kidnap for ransoms with the help and support from hezbollah. what is there to deny Nassrallah? We know that this your way deny and lie and we all know that and your supporters will lie and deny that you are a thug and nothing but a one. you and raad and Qaaseem and Assad and Berri and Jumblat..

  4. No comment but love to hear the supporters of our God sent resistance for a president and a free Lebanon from weapons and the resistance to our State army.

  5. Intouchable Avatar
    Intouchable

    Hezbollah fighters have been battling Syrian rebel groups – just think how daredevil they where with the help of cannabis…..

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      It’s more calming. Not the ‘uppers’ the ISIS boys use. I worked with a guy who used it … real ‘laid back’ … perhaps a little dull at times … but never angry.
      Imagine Lebanese without it. :-))))

      1. Intouchable Avatar
        Intouchable

        Then it’s more like the Yemeni Kat, only in reverse than the “laid back” product …

        Yes, we have some police car chase scenes on the Øresund Bridge (Öresundsbron), chasing Kat smugglers.

  6. Adrian Harper Avatar
    Adrian Harper

    the Saudi prince arrested for drug smuggling will have greter difficulty explaining.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      … to his family … 😉

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