The losses sustained by the Lebanese state reached 600 million dollars in unpaid custom fees, due to the use of illegal crossing points into Lebanon, including $150 million from cigarettes.
According to official credible information, there are three main illegitimate crossing points used to smuggle goods into Lebanon:
- The first smuggling trail starts in Turkey, through the Syrian territories to the illegal crossing points at the borders with Lebanon in the North and Bekaa.
- The second trail starts at Lattakiah port, through which the products arrive, then pass by a path established during the Syrian war leading to the Lebanese borders from the North and Bekaa.
- The third trail comes through Beirut and Tripoli ports, where custom fees are avoided under pretext that the products are in transit to Syria. But when the trucks arrive at the borders, they re-enter Lebanon through illegal crossing points.
The smuggled goods include electronic devices, cigarettes, clothing, shoes, vegetables, fruits, milk, cattle and others.
For more details, watch the full report in the video above