MEMRI February 9, 2016 Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1227
Hizbullah's International Drug Network Preoccupies Europe
By: E.B. Picali and H. Varulkar*
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9001.htm

Introduction

On February 1, 2016, four Hizbullah foreign security operatives were
arrested in France for running an international network that used millions
in drug money to fund the organization's military activity in Syria.
According to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) official, the Hizbullah
division was "a revenue and weapons stream... responsible for devastating
terror attacks around the world" and that additional arrests were likely in
the case. Seven countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium,
were involved in the investigation and arrests. It was also reported that
the Hizbullah operatives could face extradition to the U.S.

The case is similar to an earlier case, that began with the April 2014
Prague arrest, on similar charges, of three Lebanese nationals, continued
with the kidnapping of five Czech nationals in Lebanon in July 2015, and
concluded recently with a secret deal between the Czech government and the
Lebanese elements behind the kidnapping, under which both the kidnapped
Czechs and the Lebanese held in Prague were freed.

This report will shed light on both cases, and examine their similarities
and a possible connection between them.

January 2016: Following U.S. Request, France Arrests Hizbullah Operatives
For Drug Trafficking, Funding Terrorism

On February 1, 2016, the DEA announced the arrest of a number of Hizbullah
foreign security operatives for running an international network trafficking
in millions of dollars' worth of drugs, laundering the profits, and using
the funds to purchase weapons for Hizbullah's military operations in Syria.
The operatives, part of a European Hizbullah cell, are Mohamad Noureddine, a
Lebanese money launderer who worked with Hizbullah's financial apparatus and
funneled its funds through a Lebanese company that he owns, and who
maintained direct ties with Hizbullah commercial and terrorism elements in
Lebanon and Iraq. According to the DEA, the network was established by 'Imad
Mughniyah, Hizbullah's chief operations officer who was killed in Damascus
in 2008, and is now operated by Hizbullah's representative in Tehran,
Abdallah Safieddine, and by businessman Adham Tabaja, a Hizbullah official
who was recently named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by
the U.S. Hizbullah worked with South American drug cartels providing cocaine
to U.S. and European markets. Also according to the DEA, the investigation,
which began last February, uncovered a sophisticated network of money
couriers bringing millions of euros in drug profits back to the Middle East,
with much of these funds passing through Lebanon. According to the DEA,
"this ongoing investigation spans the globe... and once again highlights the
dangerous global nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism."[1]

While the DEA announcement did not specify how many people were arrested and
where the arrests took place, the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar reported that four
Lebanese citizens were arrested in France in late January 2016, one of them
Noureddine who was apprehended as he disembarked from a flight into
France.[2] The report also stated that this cell had operated in the Ivory
Coast city of Abidjan, in Belgium, and in Latin America, with Paris as a
money transfer point. Al-Nahar's sources said that the detainees could be
extradited to the U.S.

Also according to Al-Nahar, several weeks earlier, French authorities had
arrested the son of a prominent Lebanese "figure," also for drug trafficking
and laundering funds for "a terror organization." According to this report,
U.S. authorities requested extradition as part of the customary cooperation
among the countries in such cases, but the young man's father was trying
very hard to get his son released and cleared of all charges against him
even though upon his arrest he was found to be in possession of a large sum
of money.[3]

A Similar Case: Hizbullah Associates' Arrest For Drug Trafficking In Czech
Republic – Leads To Kidnapping Of Czech Nationals In Lebanon

This recent arrest of Hizbullah operatives in France, and the effort to
obtain the release of one of them before he could face extradition to the
U.S., are reminiscent of another case that began in the Czech Republic two
years ago and concluded only recently in Lebanon.

In April 2014, at the U.S.'s request, Czech authorities arrested three
Lebanese nationals, 'Ali Fayad, Faouzi Jaber, and Khaled Marabi, in Prague
for suspected drug and arms trafficking with FARC, the Colombian
organization named by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO). According to Arab and Lebanese media reports, Fayad is
an Hizbullah associate[4] who is also a citizen of Ukraine; at the time of
his arrest he was Middle East affairs advisor in the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry and was involved in arms deals with various Arab countries.[5]

Then, in July 2015, five Czech nationals were abducted in Lebanon's Western
Beqaa Valley, along with their Lebanese driver who had picked them up at the
Beirut airport. The driver was later revealed to be none other than Saib
Fayad, the brother of 'Ali Fayad, one of the Lebanese arrested by the Czechs
in Prague. The kidnapped Czechs included two journalists, apparently in
Lebanon to cover the 'Ali Fayad story; an interpreter; Fayad's attorney; and
a Czech military intelligence officer.

Was The Abduction Of The Czechs Staged, With The Aim Of Obtaining Fayad's
Release?

The Lebanese daily Al-Safir reported that the abduction of the Czechs came
just as the Czech Republic was about to extradite 'Ali Fayad and the two
other Lebanese nationals to the U.S. According to reports in Lebanese media,
Lebanese security forces quickly realized that this was a kidnapping not for
ransom, but for a different purpose – to lead to a deal with the Czech
Republic under which the Czechs would be released in exchange for 'Ali
Fayad.[6] Other Lebanese media reported that the abduction was staged, with
Fayad's brother the driver, Fayad's attorney, and the Czech intelligence
officer as accomplices, with the aim of opening negotiations with the Czech
Republic for Fayad's release. A diplomatic source even told Al-Safir that
Fayad's attorney had been well paid for his participation in the events.[7]

A Lebanese security official assessed that "a Lebanese political element"
with ties to Fayad had organized the abduction of the Czechs; it appeared
that he was attempting to hint that Hizbullah was behind the events.[8]

Secret Negotiations Via Hizbullah Associate Led To Prisoner Exchange Deal

Indeed, following the Czechs' abduction, a Czech intelligence delegation
arrived in Lebanon for talks with Lebanese General Directorate of General
Security head Abbas Ibrahim, who was in contact with the kidnappers.[9]
Ibrahim, it should be noted, is known for his good relations with Hizbullah,
and the General Directorate of General Security is considered to be close to
it.

According to Lebanese media reports, the talks to release the Czechs in
return for Fayad were absolutely secret and involved international
elements;[10] they concluded after the Czechs guaranteed that Fayad would
not be extradited to the U.S.[11]

The affair wound down earlier this month, when the Czechs were brought to
Ibrahim, who transferred them to Beirut so that they could be returned to
the Czech Republic. At the same time, Czech authorities released Fayad, and
he arrived in Lebanon shortly thereafter. Another Prague detainee, Khaled
Marabi, was also released.[12] Several days later, Czech authorities
announced that they would release Faouzi Jaber, the third Lebanese
national.[13]

As soon as they arrived in Lebanon, on February 4, 2016, Fayad and Marabi
were arrested and interrogated by Lebanese security forces.[14] Two days
previously, on February 2, 2016, U.S. State Department Special Envoy for
Hostage Affairs Jim O'Brien arrived in Lebanon, for reasons unspecified.[15]

Conclusions

It was very apparent that the Lebanese state itself had little or nothing to
do with the case. No Lebanese official – not Prime Minister Tammam Salam,
not Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, nor any other government official – ever
mentioned the events, the deal, or the release of either the Czech nationals
or the return of Fayad and Marabi. While there were reports in the Lebanese
media that Ibrahim had kept PM Salam, Interior Minister Nohad Al-Machnouk,
and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri updated regarding the deal, it appears
that the negotiations were conducted by Ibrahim himself.[16]

These events also raise a number of questions: In light of the reports that
Fayad is close to Hizbullah, was Hizbullah the Lebanese political element
behind the Czechs' abduction? What was the role of Czech intelligence in the
affair, in light of reports that one of the men abducted was a Czech
intelligence officer?

The similarity between this affair and the arrest this month of Hizbullah
operatives in France for drug trafficking and financing terrorism gives rise
to the question of whether this same unidentified Lebanese element will use
the same modus operandi in this case as well – that is, will French citizens
be abducted to secure the release of the Hizbullah activists arrested in
France at the request of the U.S.?



*E.B. Picali is a Research Fellow at MEMRI; H. Varulkar is Director of
Research at MEMRI.



Endnotes:



[1] Dea.gov/divisions/hq/2016/hq020116.shtml, February 1, 2015. The DEA
announcement also noted that several days earlier, the U.S. Treasury
Department had announced sanctions targeting Hizbullah's financial support
network by designating Hizbullah-affiliated money launderers Noureddine and
Hamdi Zaher El Dine, for providing financial services to or in support of
Hizbullah, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.


[2] The report also states that one of the four was released several days
later because he could not be connected to the events.


[3] Al-Nahar (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


[4] Lebanondebate.com, July 15, 2015; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (Lebanon), February
3, 2016.


[5] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


[6] Al-Safir (Lebanon), July 18, 2015, August 5, 2015.


[7] Al-Safir (Lebanon), August 5, 2015; Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 2,
2016.


[8] Al-Safir (Lebanon), August 5, 2015.


[9] Al-Safir (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


[10] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


[11] Al-Safir (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


[12] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 2 2016; Al-Safir (Lebanon), February
4-5, 2016.


[13] Al-Mustaqbal (Lebanon), February 5, 2016.


[14] Al-Safir (Lebanon), February 5, 2016.


[15] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 3, 2016.


[16] In September 2015, Fayad's family said that Abbas Ibrahim had agreed
to take charge of the affair as per the family's request, and that he was
the only official element handing the matter. Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), September
9, 2015. It should also be mentioned that Al-Nahar criticized the state's
handling of the affair, arguing that it is reminiscent of previous abduction
cases in Lebanon – not one of which Lebanese security forces ever solved
even though the names of the kidnappers and the locations of the hostages
were well known. The daily added, "This is probably not the last [such
case]." Al-Safir, Al-Nahar (Lebanon), February 2, 2016.


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