Lebanese army detains Bashar Assad's relative on weapons and drugs charges

Lebanese authorities have detained a relative of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with the son of a notorious drug dealerBEIRUT -- Lebanese authorities have detained a relative of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with the son of a notorious drug dealer in northeast Lebanon on charges of carrying weapons and drugs, officials and the Lebanese army said Saturday.Suleiman Assad and Ali Zeiter, son of Noah Zeiter, the suspected drug trafficker arrested last year, were detained Friday near the northeastern city of Baalbek, said the two judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Suleiman Assad is the son of Hilal Assad, a cousin of the ousted president.A number of Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have fled from Syria to other countries including Lebanon, after the five-decade Assad family rule came to an end in December 2024, when Islamist rebels seized power. Bashar Assad and his younger brother, Maher, have been living i n Russia.The Lebanese army said in a statement that it detained three people, including a Syrian citizen who did not have documents proving that he is staying legally in Leba...