BEIRUT, Reuters : Lebanon destroyed 1,924 kg (4,233 lb) of
confiscated drugs worth $6.5 million on Tuesday, police said.

``In the framework of the strict and serious plan of Lebanon's
government to fight drugs, a quantity with an estimated value of
$6.5 million was destroyed at Bourj Hammoud's incinerator,'' a
police statement said.

The statement added that the drugs included cocaine, heroin,
hallucinogenic pills and 1,795 kg (3,949 lb) of hashish.

They were burned in the presence of Syrian, Jordanian and
Cypriot antinarcotics officers invited to Lebanon to observe the
government's efforts to combat the drug trade.

Lebanese and Syrian forces have since 1992 drastically reduced
drug cultivation in Lebanon, especially in the Bekaa Valley, a
centre for the lucrative drugs trade during the 19751990 civil war.
REUTER@

[Copyright 1997, Reuters]