Lebanon is facing a deepening public health crisis as counterfeit and smuggled medications flood the market, prompting a sweeping investigation and an emergency parliamentary meeting to address the growing threat, Annahar newspaper reported on Monday.

Since the country’s economic collapse in 2019, Lebanon has witnessed a surge in illegal drug imports through unsecured border crossings and so-called “suitcase traders.” The influx has been facilitated by weak health inspections and lax customs controls, even at official entry points.

Most of the smuggled medications are either counterfeit or expired products with altered labels. These drugs have found their way into Lebanese homes through a network of complicit pharmacies and online platforms offering free delivery and competitive prices.

But officials say the gravest danger lies in the proliferation of falsified medicines produced from fake or inactive ingredients. Sold under fraudulent international brand names and at premium prices, many of these substances are essentially chemical toxins, posing life-threatening risks to patients.

In response to the escalating crisis, Lebanon’s parliamentary health committee convened an emergency session on Saturday, chaired by MP Bilal Abdallah. The meeting brought together the ministers of health, justice, interior, and defense, as well as senior security officials and representatives from the pharmacists’ syndicate, the association of pharmaceutical importers, and warehouse owners.

“This is not just a criminal issue; it’s a national health emergency,” Abdallah said. “We estimate that smuggled and counterfeit drugs account for nearly a third of the sector’s market. It’s time for the state, the security forces, customs, the Health Ministry, and all professional unions to declare a pharmaceutical emergency. As a parliamentary health committee, we will fulfill our duty.”

The scale and sophistication of the networks involved have stunned authorities. According to sources cited by Annahar, President Joseph Aoun is closely monitoring the situation. Security forces have already carried out a string of raids, including one in the Broummana, where a cache of smuggled and counterfeit medicines was discovered in a private apartment.

That operation led to the unmasking of a network involving approximately 70 pharmacies across Lebanon, allegedly involved in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. In a subsequent raid, authorities seized 1,700 boxes of counterfeit medications from a major pharmacy in Beirut.

One case has sparked particular outrage: the alleged involvement of a senior General Security officer’s wife in the illegal drug trade. Investigators say she was part of a web of profiteers peddling fake medications in what some officials are calling a “silent massacre.”

Elsewhere in Beirut’s Mazraa area, security agencies uncovered a company falsely advertising legal supplements. The firm was in fact orchestrating drug smuggling operations through the northern port of Tripoli, according to officials.

Despite the claims of shortages used by smugglers to justify their trade, health sector sources say all medications registered with the Health Ministry have remained consistently available in the market, even during the most recent outbreak of hostilities.

In one particularly harrowing case, laboratory testing of a seized cancer drug revealed that it contained no active ingredients; just saltwater. Officials described the finding as emblematic of the “moral collapse” of those involved in trafficking counterfeit medicines.

Saturday’s emergency session aimed to unify efforts across ministries, security bodies, and health associations to impose stricter controls, ensure accountability, and prevent further abuses. Particular attention is being paid to the fate of legal complaints filed by the Health Ministry, many of which, according to sources, have languished without judicial follow-up.

Restoring public confidence in Lebanon’s pharmaceutical sector, officials say, will require not just legal enforcement but public transparency. Investigative bodies and the judiciary have been urged to regularly disclose the results of their probes.

Some are calling for more drastic measures: the permanent closure of pharmacies involved in illegal activity, and the public naming of all those implicated.

“These are not just regulatory violations,” said a senior health official. “This is about saving lives and restoring trust. Every expired pill sold, every counterfeit bottle distributed, is a crime against the Lebanese people.”