Lebanese forces arrest notorious drug boss Noah Zeaiter
Army seizes fugitive without resistance amid rising violence in Bekaa region
BEIRUT, Lebanon (MNTV) — Lebanese troops captured accused drug kingpin Noah Zeaiter on Thursday in a tightly coordinated ambush in the northern Bekaa Valley, detaining a man long described by security agencies as one of the country’s most dangerous fugitives.
The army said Zeaiter was taken into custody along a road linking Kneisseh and Baalbek after years of failed attempts to apprehend him, according to Lebanese news.
He is also wanted by Interpol and has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by a Lebanese military court. Zeaiter denies the allegations, claiming they were manufactured by foreign and domestic rivals.
His lawyer, Ashraf Mousawi, noted that his client faces “hundreds of warrants, some carrying life sentences,” but insisted Zeaiter had never attacked Lebanese soldiers or taken part in kidnappings or carjackings.
Mousawi added that the arrest occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time and that Zeaiter surrendered immediately without an exchange of fire.
Zeaiter, a key figure in the powerful Zeaiter clan, is considered a central player in Bekaa’s entrenched criminal network.
His activities span drug cultivation, arms smuggling, and periodic violent clashes with state forces and rival clans like the Jaafars.
Local residents have long portrayed him as a mafia-like figure, protected by tribal loyalties and political cover, living in luxury while hundreds benefited from the income generated through illicit trade.
Following his arrest, authorities found multiple high-end vehicles with tinted windows near his hideout in Kneisseh, a remote village deep in the Bekaa region.
Security sources say his rise was enabled by porous borders with Syria, where control shifted between the Syrian military and armed factions during the Syrian conflict, across the frontier.
The Bekaa’s narcotics trade expanded significantly during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, deepened under Syrian military influence, and flourished further with Hezbollah’s dominance in the region.
Analysts say these dynamics allowed Zeaiter to operate with broad protection while maintaining smuggling routes across rugged mountain terrain.
The arrest follows violent clashes earlier this week between Lebanese forces and gunmen from the Jaafar clan in Baalbek, where two soldiers — 1st Sgt. Bilal Baradei and Cpl. Ali Haidar — were killed.
A fugitive identified as Hussein Abbas Jaafar, accused of murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and drug trafficking, also died in the confrontation.
The Lebanese army has since intensified operations in the area, deploying drones and maintaining a strict security cordon around several neighborhoods in Baalbek as it continues pursuing wanted individuals.
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