In a notable security development within the Shatila camp, I learned from reliable field sources that most of the drug sales locations spread throughout the camp and its vicinity have been closed until further notice, following information about the potential launch of a large-scale security campaign in the coming hours.
According to the information I obtained, these places were mainly run by well-known figures in security circles inside the camp and were distributed across several neighborhoods and strategic locations.
For example, in the area opposite the Rehab area on the main street, Wasim Ahmed Hazina was running one of the largest of these places in partnership with Daoud Atiya, Omar Atiya, and Adi Atiya. Sources confirm that this site has been temporarily closed for fear of raids, after security movements were observed in the surrounding area.
In a related context, Rami Maher Al-Khatib, one of the most prominent drug dealers inside the camp, was arrested today and handed over to Lebanese army intelligence on charges of drug promotion, in a move considered the most important in months in Shatila.
As for the street of the Ariha school, Omar Amer Akar, known as “Al-Hanghar,” closed his drug location after the escalation of security pressure, while Maher, Issam, and Ahmed Al-Haddad closed one of the places they were running in the western neighborhood on the outskirts of the camp, to avoid any potential raid.
But the most dangerous, according to sources, is that part of this dangerous trade is managed remotely from inside Roumieh Central Prison, under the supervision of a person known as “The Big Teacher” Abu Ali Tuta, who directs sales and distribution operations from inside the prison, through a network of collaborators spread throughout the camp and the suburbs of Beirut.
Available data indicates that the closure of these sites is not just a personal initiative of their owners, but comes within the framework of unannounced coordination between security committees inside the camp and official bodies, with the aim of containing the situation and preventing Shatila from turning into a security hotspot in the capital.
Security sources confirmed to that the next stage will witness precise field movements to control the promotion networks extending from inside the camp to the suburbs of the southern suburb, within the framework of a broader plan to pursue major distributors and the parties that finance them.
While awaiting the results of the investigations with the detainee Rami Al-Khatib, the question remains: Will the closure of these sites be just a temporary measure to alleviate pressure, or the beginning of a serious operation to eliminate the drug market inside Shatila permanently?
