Abdul Mohsin bin Walid bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Abdul Mohsin bin Walid bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Abdul Mohsin bin Walid bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud or the Captagon Prince (born 18 July 1986) is a Saudi Arabian Prince and grandson of Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. [1] [undefined]
Drug trafficking arrest
In 2015, Al-Saud was arrested at Beirut Airport, Lebanon after customs searched his private jet, found and seized 2 tonnes of drugs. These included cocaine and an amphetamine type drug called captagon on board. [undefined] The pills were contained in 25 boxes emblazoned with the Saudi emblem of crossed swords and a palm tree, then packed in six suitcases. [1]
Charge
On Monday 2nd November Claude Karam, public prosecutor for the Mount Lebanon Governorate said the prince along with four other people in custody and five in absentia had been charged with drug smuggling. [undefined]
Trial
Al-Saud, addressed by the court as Prince Moshem, was last reported appearing on trial before Mount Lebanon’s Criminal Court on 1 November 2017. His co-accused and assistant Yahya al-Shammari gave testimony during the day’s proceedings. [undefined]
The names of the pair’s co-accused, who are being tried in absentia, were also called by Head of the Court Judge as Abdel Rahim Hammoud as Ismail, Hussein Jaafar, Khaled al-Harthy, Marwan al-Kilani, Mohammad al-Ruwaili, Ziad al-Hakim, Mubarak al-Harithi and Bandar Sharari. [undefined]
Shammari gave a two hour testimony saying he had only been carrying out orders given to him by Prince Moshem and Harthy, a senior assistant of the Prince.
Shammari said that Harthy told him there were Viagra pills hidden in furniture, saying he had only been carrying out orders given to him by Prince Mohsen. He denied he had previously met or known of a co-accused called Kilani, a Syrian national, before travelling to Lebanon. He confirmed that he met him on arrival and gave him a cellphone with Lebanese SIM card. Shammari explained that Prince Mohsen ordered him to rent a van to bring the Captagon to the airport, saying “I do not take any step without his orders.” [undefined]
Regarding his preliminary statement in which he said that Prince Mohsen had nothing to do with the discovered pills, he remarked “I was subject to psychological pressure, financial inducements and threats to my family in Saudi Arabia, that is why I denied the charges directed to him (Prince Mohsen)” adding Egypt” Shammari said he still feared for his safety, but added that there was no way the operation could have been carried out without the knowledge of Prince Mohsen, saying “The private plane where the pills were found is listed under the prince’s name and the stuff in the boxes had his name on the labels." He accused Prince Mohsen of trying to shift the blame to a low-level employee. Judge Hammoud questioned Shammari about his actions when asked for the inspection at the airport. He replied that he had called the Prince, who came immediately to try and prevent the search with his diplomatic passport, adding that it eventually did not, the drugs were found and they were arrested. [undefined]
The court adjourned until 13 December 2018.
[undefined] No further reports of the trial appear to be available since November 2017.
Interpretation
Robert Fisk highlighted the irony in the case over the harsh death sentences in Saudi Arabia for drug smuggling and commented that everyone reading should*"rely on Lebanese justice. Innocent until proved guilty. All just one big mistake, surely. Wrongly labelled boxes. Or perhaps a fiendish conspiracy by Saudi’s Hezbollah enemies in Beirut to embarrass the most respected royal family in the Middle East."He stated"I think what's actually happening is that the Lebanese do not want to embarrass the Saudis. He will be freed -- that I can promise you."* [1]
Reporting
Paul Bedson made a Wikipedia article about the prince but it was swifly deleted. [undefined]