[ad_1]
Lebanese authorities arrested a ship’s captain and a shipping agent for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than a million gallons of gasoline into Syria. Investigators believe the ship’s crew intended to unload the fuel off the coast near Sidon in southern Lebanon before transporting it to Syria to circumvent sanctions for breaching the US Caesar Law. The 2019 legislation targets foreign nationals who facilitate the acquisition of goods, services, or technologies that support the military activities of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government or the country’s aviation and oil and gas industries. According to security sources, the ship turned off its AIS / GPS system, which helps in satellite tracking of ocean vessels, before entering Lebanon’s maritime waters. Sources identified the vessel as the Jaguar S and said it was registered in Panama. They added that he had sailed from Istanbul via Crete before reaching Lebanon at the end of last month. They also said that individuals and groups involved in illegal trafficking along the Lebanon’s border with Syria would have been the main financial beneficiaries, noting that rival families often fight over smuggling routes.
