Nouh Zaiter

Nouh Zaiter (نوح زعيتر) is a Lebanese drug lord and a leader of an armed militia in the Beqaa Valey involved in drug trafficking and arms dealing in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Early life
Nouh Zaiter was born on 1977 in the village of Taalbaya in the Zahle District. He studied for a year at the American University of Beirut (AUB) where he only completed a course in National Security. In 1991, he fled to Switzerland and returned to Lebanon in 1995.

Career
Zaiter allegedly has strong ties with Hezbollah and is known to work under the umbrella of the group. He is believed to be directly involved in financing the group through illegal activities such as drug trade, prostitution, and extortion. On 28 March 2023, the U.S. Treasury, in collaboration with the UK, imposed sanctions on Syrian and Lebanese individuals, including Zaiter, suspected of involvement in the production and export of Captagon, a dangerous amphetamine. The trade in Captagon is described as a billion-dollar illicit enterprise, with Lebanese drug traffickers, some with ties to Hezbollah and the Assad regime, playing a significant role in facilitating its export. Fenethylline is a popular drug in Western Asia, and American media outlet CNN reported in 2015 that it is allegedly used by militant groups in Syria. Later research demonstrated that it was the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad that has been financing Captagon production and sponsoring networks of its drug dealers in coordination with the Syrian intelligence.

Zaiter's drug clan frequently clash with the Lebanese Army and a rival clan, al-Jaafar, in the Beqaa Valey. The Zaiter and Al Jaafar clans have been associated with criminal activities in the Al Sharawneh neighborhood, where they exert control.

Personal life and family
Zaiter is currently married to Samira Hussein Al-Hajj. In social media Nouh Zaiter portrays himself as a Muslim and a charitable man however a number of cases of abuse have surfaced

In May 2021, Hussein Zaiter, Nouh's nephew, was implicated in smuggling drugs to Kuwait and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. In July 2022, his son was arrested while working in Keserwan.