Libya's Subul al-Salam infantry brigade seized over 1.3 million narcotic pills in Kufra after clashing with smugglers, an operation that resulted in three soldiers being injured. The military posted images of the seized pills, described as bearing the mark "made in Germany."
The seizure highlights Libya's ongoing role as a transit hub for illicit narcotics, underscoring the challenges in controlling drug trafficking amidst the country's internal conflict and division.
Libya's military brigade seized over 1.3 million narcotic pills in the southeastern town of Kufra after a firefight with smugglers, an operation that also resulted in three soldiers being injured, according to a military statement on Friday. The Subul al-Salam infantry brigade, which operates under the Land Forces General Staff and is responsible to military commander Khalifa Haftar, targeted hideouts used by traffickers of narcotics and illicit goods in Kufra, located approximately 1,700 km from Tripoli.
Images posted by the military showed soldiers with bags of white pills marked "made in Germany." The statement did not provide a value for the seized drugs.
Libya has become a significant regional transit hub for synthetic drugs and other narcotics destined for domestic users and elsewhere on the continent, the UN stated in January. Drug gangs have exploited the country's tumultuous situation since 2011, following the toppling of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi. In a separate development, a court in the Western Mountains region, about 160 km southwest of Tripoli, handed death sentences to five individuals in October for importing over 2 million psychotropic substance pills.
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