By Al Jazeera Staff

This report was published on 19 Jul 202619 Jul 2026.

The sentencing of Georges Hanna Dib, known online as Dr Food, marks one of the most notable drug cases involving a Lebanese influencer.

Beirut, Lebanon – The popular Lebanese food influencer, known as Dr Food and dubbed Lebanon’s Breaking Bad, has been sentenced to life in prison with hard labour for drug smuggling.

Hashish, concealed inside cake packaging manufactured in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, was first sent to Turkiye before being shipped abroad.

Georges Hanna Dib and other Lebanese and Syrian nationals were sentenced under Lebanon’s Narcotics Law, which covers the manufacturing of banned drugs, according to reports.

Judge Elie al-Helou, sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labour and fined him 120 million Lebanese pounds ($1,341).

The sentencing comes after a 2024 drug bust involving 820kg (1,800 pounds) of hashish hidden in cake packaging.

Dib, though not a licensed doctor, has over five million TikTok followers and is believed to be outside Lebanon. He and co-defendants, tried in absentia, were also stripped of their civil rights.

Dib was recommended a life sentence and hard labour in February last year when a Mount Lebanon investigative judge charged him with “manufacturing, trafficking, and smuggling drugs abroad”.

On Sunday, Dr Food’s Instagram page made no mention of the court case or any reaction to the sentencing. The page shared a giveaway that his food product brand was running.

People who received the message, posted it on TikTok and received 100,000 views would win $100 from the influencer.

In one video posted to Instagram, Dr Food appears to be filming himself in his car but does not address the court’s decision.

His last story was posted on March 27 from Beirut’s waterfront. There, he is asking displaced Lebanese what they miss eating and then proceeds to order food for them from some of Lebanon’s most popular food chains.

Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley is notorious for hashish production. Last November, Lebanese police arrested Noah Zaiter, a 48-year-old drug trafficker, known as the Lebanese Pablo Escobar. He was sentenced to four months in prison in February.

Dib's sentencing in absentia means he remains at large, potentially abroad. The case underscores the challenges Lebanese authorities face in prosecuting high-profile individuals who flee the country. It also highlights how social media fame can intersect with serious criminal enterprises.