Saudi Arabia bans Lebanese produce over drug smuggling concerns

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry called on authorities to do more to stop smuggling in response.
pomegranates
Pomegranates from Azerbaijan lie on display at a stand at the International Green Week agricultural trade fair on Jan. 16, 2015, in Berlin, Germany. Saudi officials say amphetamines were found in a shipment of pomegranates from Lebanon and have banned the import of fruits and vegetables from the country. - Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

The Saudi government announced a ban on Lebanese fruit and vegetable imports Friday because of drug smuggling. 

The Saudi Interior Ministry said produce from Lebanon can neither enter nor transit through the kingdom starting April 25 until “the relevant Lebanese authorities provide sufficient and reliable guarantees to take the necessary measures to stop the systematic smuggling operations targeting the Kingdom, from Lebanon or passing through Lebanese territories, using Lebanese products to smuggle drugs into the Kingdom's territory,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported. 

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