Lebanon Charges 13 Hezbollah Members Over Half-Ton Explosives Seizure
Lebanon’s Military Court charged 13 Hezbollah members in connection with the seizure of half a ton of explosives earlier this month, as the country’s foreign minister publicly pushed back against Iranian influence.
Lebanon Charges Hezbollah Members Over Explosives Seizure
Lebanon’s Military Court has charged 13 members of Hezbollah in connection with the half-ton shipment of explosives seized from a vehicle traveling toward Beirut earlier this month. [1] Judge Claude Ghanem issued charges against the 13 members, including the two Hezbollah operatives arrested in the vehicle, identified as Ali Al Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz. [1] Only the two named men remain in Lebanese custody. [1] The defendants were charged with endangering state security, defying government decisions, membership in a banned organization, and possessing firearms and explosives. [1] The explosives were discovered at a checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar in the Bekaa Valley earlier this month and consisted of 250 kilograms of TNT-type explosives and 250 kilograms of C4. [1] Hezbollah has demanded the release of its operatives and the return of the seized material, but both demands have so far been rejected. [1] Hezbollah parliamentary bloc MP Hussein Hajj Hassan criticized the charges as unfair and unjust, claiming the detainees and other defendants were performing a national duty in defense of their country and the sovereignty of the state. [1] Recent polling indicates that most Lebanese want Hezbollah disarmed and the elected government to have sole authority over military decisions. [1]
Context of Possible Assassination and Past Attacks
The explosives discovered at the checkpoint prompted concerns that they could have been intended for a political assassination. [1] Although Hezbollah claimed the explosives were destined for Israel, several Lebanese commentators noted that the materials seized were of the same types used in the truck bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri. [1] The Special Tribunal for Lebanon found that Hezbollah members were responsible for the attack, which killed 22 people and wounded hundreds. [1] Lebanese military courts have previously handed down lenient sentences to Hezbollah operatives accused of violating the country's arms laws. [1] In March, four Hezbollah members were released by the Military Court on symbolic bail of $21 after spending just six days in detention for possessing illegal weapons. [1]
Lebanese Foreign Minister Rejects Iranian Influence
The charges coincide with Foreign Minister Joe Rajji stating at the Manama Dialogue that Lebanon will no longer allow its territory to be used to threaten Arab countries or serve as an advanced defense line for other nations. [1] Rajji said foreign policy is decided in Beirut and national security is exclusively the responsibility of the state. [1] He added that Lebanon has long suffered the devastating consequences of the instrumentalization of armed organizations for the benefit of foreign interests. [1]
Colombia’s President Escalates Anti-Cartel Offensive
Separately, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, known as ‘El Tigre’, oversaw a raid resulting in 72 arrests. [2] He arrived at the Barranquilla police command around the early hours of the morning as 587 police officers and soldiers raided 50 locations across the Caribbean port city and its suburbs in Operation Blindaje 360. [2] A few days earlier, a recording intercepted by Colombian police captured the alleged leader of a gang called Los del Freseo boasting that de la Espriella had nothing on him. [2] Before dawn, the president tracked the gang leader down and confronted him face to face. [2] The government is seeking to reverse former President Gustavo Petro’s total peace policy. [2] Nearly three months into his term, de la Espriella has scrapped the total peace talks, ordered every armed group treated as a terrorist organization, and claims more than 32,000 arrests. [2] He has signed more than 100 extradition orders. [2] Colombia became the 19th member of Trump’s Shield of the Americas coalition in August. [2]
NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine Couriers and Other Drug Seizures in Nigeria
Nigeria’s NDLEA arrested two Europe-based Nigerians, Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, at Abuja airport for ingesting 200 wraps of cocaine totaling 3.46 kg. [3] The suspects were arrested on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight from Abuja to Paris. [3] Odife confessed to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.901 kg. [3] Blackborn confessed to swallowing 90 wraps weighing 1.559 kg. [3] The NDLEA also reported several drug seizures and arrests across the country, including the recovery of 976 kg of cannabis from two commercial buses in Lagos. [3] In Oyo State, two suspects were arrested while allegedly loading 554 kg of cannabis into a truck. [3] In Kano State, operatives recovered 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kg and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kg. [3] Operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition. [3]
Other European Crime Incidents
French police arrested five British far-right activists as they were filming themselves harassing migrants near the northern Channel port of Dunkirk. [4] Police in central Greece are seeking four gunmen who escaped in a car after a failed attempt to steal a cash machine from a guarded building near the city of Larissa early Sunday. [5] The armed men broke into the company premises on the road from Larissa to Ambelonas but were unable to remove the ATM or any of its contents and fired shots at security guards. [5] No injuries were reported. [5]
What to watch next: The Lebanese military court proceedings against the 13 defendants continue amid ongoing demands from Hezbollah for their release, while Colombia’s government reports further arrests under its new anti-cartel measures and the NDLEA maintains operations at Nigerian airports and highways.
