Lebanon detains suspected French drug dealer for second time this week

Lebanese authorities Friday detained a suspected French drug dealer a few days after releasing him on bail, judicial officials said.

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The officials said members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate detained Abdel Karim Touil at the request of the country’s prosecutor general and he was being held at the Justice Palace in Beirut. Officials refused to give any details on whether Touil has a lawyer in Lebanon.

The three officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the man could be handed over to France, which is expected to send an official extradition request to Lebanese authorities. The officials said a meeting is expected soon between French and Lebanese judicial officials in order to hand him over.

Touil was taken into custody at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport on Sunday and authorities confiscated his French and Algerian passports before releasing him three days later on bail. His passports remained with authorities after his brief release to make sure he did not leave the country, the officials said.

In August, Lebanon hand over to Italy a suspected Italian drug dealer a month after he was detained in Beirut.