Smuggling operations have recently expanded across the “loose” border between Lebanon and Syria. The smugglers regained their activity, which expanded from fuel, vegetables, and livestock, to bread, cigarettes, and cosmetic surgery supplies. The smugglers benefit from the “Caesar Law”, which prevents companies from bringing a large number of goods into Syria, and they also benefit from the price difference between Lebanon and Syria, especially imported goods that cannot be imported. It is covered by the Syrian industries, in contrast to a shortage of basic materials in the Syrian market, such as fuel and non-essential medical supplies, such as injections and supplies for cosmetic surgery. Security sources in eastern Lebanon told Asharq Al-Awsat that the borders are now open at more than one point, explaining that the smuggling routes It includes uninhabited areas. The number of illegal crossings reaches 11, with a length of 22 km, starting from the town of Al-Qaa in the east to the illegal Al-Qasr border crossing in the north.
Civilian actors in the region say that the inability of the official Lebanese forces to cover the long borders has contributed to the increase in smuggling, “despite the presence of a number of control rooms on the eastern chain that undermined smuggling activity in large areas and closed three old smuggling crossings,” noting that these roads “ It is still closely monitored due to the spread of the Lebanese army’s control rooms.”