Lebanon army thwarts attempt to smuggle drone to gunmen

The Lebanese army said Wednesday that it halted an attempt to smuggle a surveillance drone to gunmen on the eastern mountain range.

In a statement by the Guidance Directorate, the army announced that "it thwarted the smuggling of a Flying Cam, which was going to be used to spy on and photograph army locations."

The army added "investigations are underway to determine the seller of the plane and those involved in the operation."

The army statement warned vendors of Flying Cam drones to inspect the identity of their buyers and the purpose of their purchase before selling them.

In addition, it urged owners of these planes to obtain a license from the Army Command before operating them.

Later on Wednesday, the National News Agency reported that five people were arrested over their links to the case.

In a related development, the National News Agency (NNA) reported that the army intelligence raided the house of Syrian detainee Mohammed al-Jaber in the town of al-Sweiri in the west Bekaa region.

Five people were arrested in the raid, during which a drone, equipped with a seven-kilometer-range camera, was discovered, the NNA said. Endit