The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, continues to clamp down on drug smuggling networks in the south of the country, after one of its brigades announced “the seizure of more than 1.3 million narcotic pills,” following an armed clash with smugglers in the city of Kufra, which resulted in the injury of three soldiers.
According to a statement issued by the Security Media Division of the National Army (Saturday), a security operation carried out by the “Paths of Peace Infantry” Brigade, affiliated with the Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces, targeted one of the drug and contraband dealers’ dens in Kufra, and resulted in the seizure of more than one million and three hundred thousand narcotic pills, and the arrest of a number of smugglers.
The statement explained that the raid witnessed an exchange of fire, which resulted in the injury of three soldiers, without mentioning other losses. The division published pictures of masked soldiers in military uniform securing the contraband seizure site at night, along with a transport truck, storage barrels, and transparent bags containing large quantities of grains.
Reuters observed dozens of transparent plastic bags filled with white, round pills bearing the number “1.”
Observers believe that the seizure of this large quantity “reflects the scale of the challenge facing the security services in southern Libya.” They also point out that “the National Army is tightening its grip on drug smuggling networks in the region, but at the same time it raises questions about the source of the shipment, the paths it took to reach Kufra, and the parties that were going to distribute it.”
The Security Media Division did not reveal the identity of those arrested or the source and final destination of the pills, nor did it provide details about the extent of the network behind the shipment, or its possible links to smuggling networks outside Libya.
The operation gains importance given the geographical location of Kufra, located in the southeast of the country, near the borders with Sudan, Chad, and Egypt, and in a wide desert area that is difficult to control completely.
This geographical nature allows smuggling networks to move across vast distances, taking advantage of the multiple land routes and the difficulty of monitoring them continuously.
The “Paths of Peace Infantry” Brigade is affiliated with the Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces of the Libyan National Army, which is stationed in the east of the country, and is stationed in Kufra and its environs, where it participates in the tasks of securing the border areas and combating smuggling. His activity is known for implementing desert patrols and security operations in the southeastern regions.
At the local level, circles supporting the General Command welcomed the operation, and considered it a step to strengthen security in the south and tighten the noose on drug smuggling and trafficking. The Kufra Municipality also described the operation as “a blow to criminal networks seeking to spread drugs among the people of the city and target its youth.”
The municipality called for continuing security efforts, prosecuting those involved, and drying up the sources of the drug trade, while referring everyone proven responsible to the competent judicial authorities, to receive their punishment in accordance with the law.
The regions of southern Libya face challenges related to the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people, in light of the expanding desert areas, and the multiplicity of crossings and irregular paths. The state of security and political division that the country has experienced since 2011 also makes it more difficult to coordinate efforts to combat organized crime along the border.
Last May, the 144th Majhful Brigade of the National Army arrested a member of a network involved in manufacturing and trafficking Captagon tablets, during a joint operation with the Anti-Narcotics Service, which revealed that the network’s activity had been transferred from a farm in Tobruk to a location in southern Libya.
Libya has become, according to United Nations reports, a major transit center for narcotic drugs towards local markets and the rest of the African continent, while historical smuggling routes intersect with new routes, linking West Africa with the Sahel region and reaching the eastern ports.
