Noah Zaitar allegedly ran a drug empire, producing and exporting narcotics, including the synthetic stimulant captagon.
Published On 21 Nov 2025
The Lebanese army has detained the country’s most infamous drug lord, two years after he was sanctioned by the United States over suspected links to narcotics rings in Syria.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Lebanese army confirmed they had arrested a citizen with the initials “NZ”, and three security sources confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the individual in question was the fugitive Noah Zaitar.
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Following a “series of precise security surveillance and monitoring operations”, security forces arrested Zaitar in an ambush in the city of Baalbek in Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek-Hermel governorate, the Lebanese military said.
“The detainee is one of the most dangerous wanted individuals, pursuant to a large number of arrest warrants, for crimes of forming gangs operating across numerous Lebanese regions in drug and arms trafficking, manufacturing narcotic substances, and robbery and theft by force of arms,” the military said.
“He had also previously opened fire on army elements and facilities, as well as citizens’ homes, and kidnapped individuals for financial ransom. The investigation has commenced with the detainee under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” it added.
Zaitar allegedly ran a drug empire in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley area near the Syrian border, producing and exporting drugs including the synthetic stimulant captagon.
A military tribunal sentenced Zaitar – who had evaded arrest for years while living in his home village of Kneisseh surrounded by armed supporters – to death in 2024 for killing a Lebanese soldier.
He was also named in US Department of State sanctions in 2023 against the regime of ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and individuals connected to his lucrative captagon trafficking network.
The State Department said Zaitar was a “known arms dealer and drug smuggler”, wi