The Nation - News from Feb. 23, 1987

A Lebanese businessman has been arrested in Jacksonville, Fla., in the smuggling of 400 pounds of hashish oil from Beirut, netting possibly the largest seizure of hashish oil in Florida. Pierre Georges Khoueiri, 31, who described himself as a Miami-based jeweler, was arrested by agents of the U.S. Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration as he attempted to pick up two Mercedes-Benz automobiles in which the drug was hidden, said Customs Service Special Agent Brian F. McCabe. McCabe estimated the oil’s value at $400,000. Khoueiri appeared in U.S. District Court in front of U.S. Magistrate Howard T. Snyder and was charged with attempting to pass fraudulent invoices and documents before customs agents.