Libyan authorities at Al Marj City to the northeast of the country announced confiscating around 300 bars of Hashish with photos of the Russian president Vladimir Putin used as labels.
According to a statement released by authorities on Monday, 323 bars of Hashish, each with 250 grams of the illegal drug were seized from drug smugglers in the coastal city of Al Marj, near Benghazi.
Bars of hashish drugs sealed with the photo of #Russia president Vladimir Putin washed ashore in east #Libya. pic.twitter.com/pMqplxfNTZ
— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) February 6, 2022
However, to officers' surprise, each bar was covered with plastic wrap and a photo of Vladimir Putin.
While authorities have been unable to explain the reason smugglers used Putin's photo, many online people suggested it is a way to promote the drug that has been gaining popularity in the war-torn country in recent years.
Putin pot
— Jean-Marc Mojon (@mojobeirut) February 8, 2022
Libya's anti-narcotics squad seized 323 bars of hashish wrapped with photos of the Russian president 🤷♂️ @AFP #Libya #Putin https://t.co/hJEF4OWyp6 pic.twitter.com/lIP3zWvMVY
Local experts have linked this amount of drugs found near the beach to previous ones busted in recent weeks to unconfirmed news of a sunken drug-smuggling boat.
