Lebanon Detains Suleiman Assad, Son of Drug Suspect on Weapons and Drug Charges

Lebanese authorities have detained a relative of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and the son of a suspected drug trafficker on charges of carrying weapons and drugs, the army and judicial officials said.

Suleiman Assad and Ali Zeiter were taken into custody on Friday near the northeastern city of Baalbek, according to two judicial officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. Suleiman Assad is the son of Hilal Assad, a cousin of the former Syrian president. Ali Zeiter is the son of Noah Zeiter, a suspected drug trafficker arrested last year.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that it had detained three people, including a Syrian citizen who could not produce documents proving legal residence in Lebanon. Weapons and hashish were seized from the group, the army said. It did not release names, but the initials of those held matched those of Assad and Zeiter. The detainees were questioned under the supervision of judicial officials.

The arrests come weeks after Lebanon handed over to Syrian authorities a retired major general who had commanded a division in Bashar Assad's army.

Since the fall of the Assad family's five-decade rule in December 2024, when Islamist rebels seized power, a number of Syrian officials and relatives of the former president have fled to other countries, including Lebanon. Bashar Assad and his younger brother, Maher, have been living in Russia.