The media office of caretaker Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Zeina Akar, issued a statement on Sunday expressing its "condemnation of smuggling narcotic substances to Saudi Arabia from Lebanon, the latest of which was an attempt to smuggle about 14 million Captagon tablets hidden inside a shipment of iron plates."
   
Minister Akar pointed out that all security services in Lebanon are making great efforts to stop smuggling, stressing that the Lebanese government is also working to take measures to control smuggling in ports.

Akar stressed that "smuggling poses a threat to society and harms relations between the two brotherly countries," noting that coordination between the relevant agencies in the two countries will limit and eliminate the crime of smuggling.