JERUSALEM - Elhanan Tannenbaum, an Israeli reserve colonel abducted in 2000 in Lebanon in murky circumstances and held in captivity by Hezbollah for more than three years, admitted Wednesday for the first time that he was a drug dealer, the Israeli media reported.

Making a court appearance as a witness in a tax fraud case linked to other suspects involved in the same drug ring, Tannenbaum admitted that he went to Lebanon to complete a drug deal from which he expected to make US$200,000, according to a report on Army Radio.

Tannenbaum, a former high ranking artillery officer, was deep in debt when he used a foreign passport to travel to Lebanon, illegal for an Israeli because the two countries are enemies.

He was captured by Hezbollah and imprisoned for more than three years, and was returned to Israel in January 2004 in a prisoner swap between Israel and the guerrilla group.

The lopsided deal drew anger from some Israelis who claimed Israel paid an excessive price - the release of 400 Lebanese and other Arab prisoners, a blow to Israel's prestige and a considerable boost to Hezbollah's - in exchange for Tannenbaum.

Tannenbaum initially said he went to Lebanon to seek information about Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator missing since 1986. -AP