From shootout to arrest: Armed drug dealer in Lebanon caught after 'daring' escape

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

An individual named Hassan Yahfoufi, who planned to distribute toxic drugs and open fire on a police officer and a sergeant from the Mount Lebanon Intelligence Unit in Saadiyat, was tracked by Army Intelligence from the coast to the eastern border and ultimately arrested.

In Lebanon’s drug world, his name stands out among active dealers operating in Beirut’s southern suburbs and across the areas of Chouf and Mount Lebanon, including Damour, Jiyeh, and Saadiyat. His main connection is one of the country’s most notorious drug lords, Abbas “Gebran” Zaiter.

When authorities learned he was preparing to deliver a shipment of drugs, a patrol from the Mount Lebanon Intelligence Unit closed in on him in Saadiyat. But Yahfoufi fled toward the Saadiyat bridge, got out of his car, and opened fire at the officers, injuring both himself and two members of the patrol, a lieutenant and a sergeant.

Despite his wounds, he escaped through nearby orchards to a friend’s home in the southern suburbs, where he treated his injuries before fleeing again at dawn. Army Intelligence was waiting.

In the early morning hours, Yahfoufi boarded a minibus to Sharawneh, heading to the home of his friend and employer, Gebran Zaiter. Before reaching his destination, Army Intelligence ambushed and arrested him.

This operation is part of a broader effort by Lebanese security forces to combat the “drug epidemic,” which threatens the country’s reputation and social stability.

Last September, Army Intelligence carried out three major operations that led to the arrest of key figures in the drug trade: Abbas Rabih Awadeh, Hamza Rajeh Jaafar, and Hassan Abbas Jaafar, who alone is wanted on 229 warrants.

In addition to drug trafficking, they face charges of robbery, counterfeiting, and shooting at the army.

Authorities also cite the case of notorious dealer Ali Monzer Zaiter, who was killed in August after years of surveillance. 

These operations aim to curb the drug trade that once thrived along the Lebanese-Syrian border, which has declined since the fall of the Assad regime and the reduction of Hezbollah’s influence.