Customs agents crack down on corruption

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Shipping into the Lebanon? Currently one of the eastern Med’s foremost hubs, the port of Beirut has been a success story in recent years. It handled just over one million teu last year, but local shipping agents are being exposed for corruption stemming from the breakdown of the port’s container scanners. Some sources suggest the country is losing $2 billion a year in duties and while arrests have been made, full-scale reform is unlikely until the senior posts in Customs have been filled.