On 14 May, three members of the 444 Brigade and ‘a group’ of drug smugglers were killed in a battle between the two sides lasting several hours. It occured south of Ghadames near the border with Algeria in the al-Hamada al-Hamra area. Several other smugglers (at least two) were arrested. About five million Tramadol tablets were confiscated. The drugs were destined for sale in Tripoli.
On 15 May, Prime Minister Abdul Hameed Dabaiba mourned the deaths of the three 444 Brigade members and expressed his condolences to their families. On 18 May, the Libyan Anti-Drug Agency stepped up surveillance on the border with Algeria in cooperation with the 680th Infantry Battalion of the 128th Libyan National Army (LNA) Brigade stationed in Ghadames and the Internal Security Agency.