Beirut airport customs arrest traveller with $1.4 million in cash

The arrest comes amid allegations of Iranian money being smuggled to Hezbollah

Passengers departing from Lebanon walk with their luggage to the airport due to a protest by supporters of Hezbollah. EPA

Customs officials at Beirut Airport arrested a man on Friday arriving from Turkey with a bag containing $1.4 million in cash, a security source said, as intense debate continues over allegations of Iranian money being smuggled to Hezbollah.

The militant group has suffered significant losses during the recent war with Israel, which has targeted its financial institutions with air strikes. Israel has also threatened to attack Lebanon’s only airport if it permits the transfer of funds to the embattled group.

"A man arriving from Turkey was arrested at the airport today. He had $1.4 million in cash in a bag. Security personnel found him suspicious, so they searched him and discovered the money," the Lebanese security source told The National.

"Individuals carrying large sums are being questioned, and there is heightened scrutiny over money entering the country. Others may have managed to bring money in, but this person was caught,” the source added. When asked whether the funds were intended for Hezbollah, the security source said the “interrogation is still ongoing”. Lebanese customs issued a statement confirming the arrest of a man carrying a bag full of cash.

Last month, Lebanon's Rafic Hariri International Airport was put on a state of alert on over suspicion that an aircraft carrying a delegation from Iran might contain funds intended for Hezbollah. Members of the delegation aboard the Iranian Air Mahan flight attempted to bar Lebanese security officials from searching the plane.

Six weeks later, Lebanon decided to indefinitely suspend flights to and from Iran after Israel's military accused Tehran of using civilian planes to smuggle cash to arm the Lebanese militant group. The move could temporarily affect rearmament and the reconstruction effort in the devastated south of Lebanon, where residents complain of delays to compensation payments offered by Hezbollah.

It sparked days of violent protests by Hezbollah supporters near the airport, including one incident in which a peacekeeping vehicle was set on fire and the outgoing deputy commander of the force and a Nepalese soldier were injured. Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government to reverse the decision, calling it “compliance with the enemy’s dictates”, in reference to Israel.

Iran has long been accused of providing funding and weapons to Hezbollah, mainly through the porous Lebanon-Syria border. But the fall of the Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad’s regime in a lightning offensive in December deprived the group of a key ally and disrupted traditional supply routes, reportedly increasing the importance of Beirut airport as an alternative.

Hezbollah, once considered one of the world's most heavily armed groups, is in urgent need of funding to rebuild its forces. Months of heavy cross-border fighting with Israel, which Israel escalated into a full-scale war in mid-September, have dealt a significant blow to the group. During the war, the Israeli military eliminated much of Hezbollah's top leadership, destroying infrastructure and targeting its arsenal.