BEIRUT, August 17./TASS/: Lebanese investigators have issued an arrest warrant for the chief of Lebanese Customs, Badri Daher, over the Beirut port blast, Al Arabiya news channel reported on Monday.
It said the arrest warrant was issued after the official had given evidence. The customs chief was questioned for four hours, it stressed.
A powerful blast at a warehouse rocked the Beirut seaport area on August 4, sending a shockwave through residential neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. According to chairman of the Lebanese contractors syndicate Maroun Helou, the shockwave destroyed and damaged about 40,000 buildings and 200,000 apartments with over 300,000 people left homeless. According to Lebanon’s Interior Ministry, a fire started by welding caused the detonation of more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored in the port for six years after being seized by the customs service. Beirut's city governor Marwan Abboud said city reconstruction would require between $12 and $15 billion.
