The Lebanese army today arrested a cousin away from the deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as the son of Lebanese drug lord Nouh Zaïter, according to a source of security cited by the French news agency AFP.
© Mohamad Zanaty/Anadolu via Getty Images
11/09/2026
by
Lusa
Dand according to this source, which asked not to be identified, the army “interposed three people, including Souleimane Hilal al-Assad, the son of the cousin of the former Syrian leader” at the time the trio was using drugs in the Beqaa region (east Lebanon).
Nouh Zaiter's son Ali was also arrested, added the source, referring to a famous drug dealer who himself had been captured by the army last year.
The three detainees were transferred to the Lebanon Defense Ministry for questioning.
Syria and Lebanon have been trying to write a new page of their bilateral relations since Bashar al-Assad fell at the end of 2024 and the weakening of Hezbollah, their ally in Lebanon.
Earlier this month, the Lebanese authorities arrested a former Syrian intelligence officer, as well as several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of the new Syrian government.
Last month, Beirut extradited to Damascus a former Assad era general accused of crimes, including murder and torture.