Libya accuses al Qaeda of sending in 37M painkillers

TRIPOLI, (Reuters) – Libyan authorities accused al  Qaeda today of trying to smuggle 37 million painkillers  into the country to alter the minds of young people to join a  revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Mahmoud Ali, who said he was the head of Libya’s  anti-narcotics department, said authorities had intercepted  shipments of Tramadol which had originated in Dubai and were  purchased by a Libyan drug dealer with ties to al Qaeda.
Libyan officials showed journalists cartons of the drugs   seized, including ones with images of King Cobra snakes.
“The target was the distribution of the drugs among young  people through drug traffickers,” Abdel Haqim Giniwa, another  anti-narcotics official, told a news conference.
“Thanks to all the hard work of the security forces, this  quantity of the drug was intercepted. It would have caused  social and economic disorder.”
He said the drugs were hidden in containers that were  identified for furniture, sports equipment and marble tiles.
Gaddafi has said protesters against his rule were  brain-washed by al Qaeda and had their milk and Nescafe spiked  with hallucinogenic drugs.