Lebanese military authorities say they have arrested a notorious drug suspect two years after he was sanctioned by the United States for alleged ties to narcotics networks linked to Syria. The army announced the detention after what it described as a series of precise surveillance and monitoring operations, saying the arrested man carried the initials NZ and was one of the most dangerous wanted individuals in the country. Local security sources identified him as Noah Zaitar.
The military statement said the suspect faced multiple arrest warrants for organizing gangs that operated across Lebanon in drug and arms trafficking, producing narcotics, robbery and armed theft. It accused him of previously opening fire on army personnel and installations, shooting at civilians’ homes and kidnapping people for ransom. The probe has begun under judicial supervision, the army added.
Zaitar is accused of running a drug network centered in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, involved in the production and export of narcotics including the synthetic stimulant captagon. A military tribunal in 2024 sentenced him to death for the killing of a Lebanese soldier after years of reportedly evading capture while based in his home village of Kneisseh and shielded by armed supporters.
In 2023 the US Department of State added Zaitar to sanctions tied to individuals and entities associated with captagon trafficking and the Syrian regime. The designation described him as a known arms dealer and drug smuggler with close links to the Syrian Arab Army’s Fourth Division, and said he was wanted for materially assisting, sponsoring or providing support to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Zaitar’s arrest comes amid an intensified Lebanese campaign against drug traffickers. The military said two soldiers, identified as Bilal al-Baradi and Ali Haidar, were killed in clashes in Baalbek while pursuing fugitive narcotics suspects during intelligence raids. The Army Command published a notice mourning First Assistant Martyr Bilal al-Barada’i and Corporal Martyr Ali Haidar, who were killed on 18/11/2025 during clashes with wanted individuals while the Intelligence Directorate, supported by an army unit, carried out a series of raids in the al-Sharawna area of Baalbek.
The military said a separate Lebanese citizen, referenced by initials HAJ and named by local outlet LBC International as Hassouneh Jaafar, was shot and killed after firing on security forces during that raid. He had been wanted in connection with the murder of four soldiers, and with charges including kidnapping, robbery, armed robbery and drug trafficking.
Authorities also reported arrests of two other men, identified only by initials FM and GQ, in the Akkar governorate north of Baalbek near the Syrian border. They were detained on allegations of promoting drugs and possessing weapons and military ammunition.
The army said investigations are continuing under judicial oversight as it steps up operations against organized narcotics networks operating within Lebanon and across the border region.