Carload of machine guns confiscated in Lebanon

Lebanese authorities have seized a carload of automatic machine guns and munitions, the second such confiscation in less than a month, the daily An Nahar said Sunday.

The paper, citing security sources, said the weapons confiscated by Lebanese customs on Saturday belonged to the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP).

The sources were quoted as saying that the weapons included 25 new brand, Russian-made Kalashnikov machine guns and six cases of munitions as well as clips.

They said the driver confessed that the supplies belonged to the SSNP and that he was instructed to carry them from east Lebanon's Bekaa valley to Beirut.

A communique released by the Lebanese customs said the car, a Renault 12, was intercepted on the main Beirut-Damascus highway.

It said that the weapons were discovered in the trunk after the car was stopped and searched.

The driver has been handed over to the military police along with the seized arms, the statement said without elaboration.

The latest confiscation is the second time in 2007 as Lebanese customs confiscated a truckload of Hezbollah arms on Feb. 8.

Last December, police seized explosives, fuses and detonators in house raids that resulted in the arrest of seven SSNP members.

Source: Xinhua