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Saudi Royal Detained After 2 Tons of Drugs Found on Private Jet

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A member of the Saudi royal family and four others were detained after authorities discovered two tons of drugs on a private jet in Beirut on Monday, according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency and a government official.

The National News Agency said smugglers were attempting to transport the “huge quantity” of Captagon pills — 40 bags worth — to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Monday’s bust was the largest-ever smuggling operation uncovered at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to the news agency.

It said the five Saudi nationals held were being questioned.

Col. Joseph Musalem, a spokesman for Lebanon’s ministry of…

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Inside a Saudi Arabian Oil Giant's American Oasis

Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Families relax by “The Pond” at sunset. “The Pond” is on the North East corner of the Dhahran Golf Course in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A mother waves goodbye to her daughter on Lemon Circle as she leaves for Dhahran School on the school bus at 7am. Aramco schools are all located within the compound.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Dhahran Commissary is located near the main office area. Generally, it gets busy around 4pm when people leave work. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A female employee of Saudi Aramco.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A major oil facility under construction in Jubail Industrial City. This is a Joint Venture between Saudi Aramco and a foreign oil company. Jubail is located on the East coast and is the largest petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Workers at an oil facility construction site in Jubail. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Workers brave the extreme temperature of the desert, sometimes above 120 degrees farenheit, to keep Dhahran’s landscape green and pristine.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Nurses from Dhahran Health Center wait for a bus after work in front of the Commissary. Saudi Aramco’s health center was first operated by the company itself, but since 2014, it became Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, the first-of-its-kind health care joint venture between Saudi Aramco, a world leader in energy, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Saudi Aramco Beach, “Half Moon Bay,” Azizyah. This is a private beach for Saudi Aramco employees and their guests.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Sahrr sits on her car after driving out to the jebels on the Western side of Dhahran. In Arabic, jebel means mountain or hill. Many Aramcons use the term to refer to large rocky areas. While women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, they are allowed to drive within Aramco compounds, including Dhahran, the largest of them all.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A city of oil tanks, one of many tank farms in the Eastern Province.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A translplanted American “Bluebird” school bus is used to transport workers. These buses are a common site in Saudi Arabia. Some of them still have the name of the original American school district.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Two boys wait for their turn at a skate competition at the local skate park in Dhahran Hills.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Mr. Embleton is a Canadian expatriate working for Saudi Aramco Public Relations. Sometimes, he chooses to wear a traditional Saudi thobe and guthra to work.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Saudi Aramco CEO’s displayed at the local Heritage Gallery. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
US Maps colored and labeled by Dhahran Middle School students in a geography assignment. Education has always been part of Saudi Aramco’s legacy. Ayesha Malik; Saudi Aramco World Digital Image Archive, SAWDIA
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A woman poses in a contemporary, yet traditionally inspired, Middle Eastern dress.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
An onlooker wears his Texans Santa hat at the annual Returning Student Co-ed Softball game during Christmas time in Dhahran. Aramco schooling runs from kindergarten to ninth grade. After this time, schooling is generally continued overseas or in one of the nearby international schools.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A gardner works in the backyard at a home in Dhahran.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
The Dhahran skyline. When Aramco first began, palm trees were flown in from the United States.Ayesha Malik

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