KABUL (BNA) The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has denounced as “baseless lies” reports that one of Syria’s most well-known drug dealers, who was killed earlier this week in an airstrike near the Jordanian border, was linked to the Iran-backed group.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s televised speech on Friday came four days after the rare strike that some Syrian opposition activists claimed was carried out by Jordan’s air force.
The activists and a war monitor said the amphetamine Captagon kingpin killed Monday was among the most wanted by Jordanian authorities for drug smuggling across the border with the backing of a small militia.
Syrian activists say Merhi al-Ramthan, who was killed with his wife and six children, worked closely with militias linked to Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Western governments estimate that Captagon has generated billions of dollars in revenue for Assad, his Syrian associates, and allies. Damascus has denied the accusations.
Sentiments against Syrian refugees have been rising in Lebanon since the country’s massive economic meltdown that started in 2019 has left three-quarters of the Lebanese population living in poverty.
Bakhtar
