Syrian-Tunisian kidnapping ring in Lebanon busted

The Internal Security Forces arrested six Syrian men and two Tunisian women last week for plotting to kidnap people for ransom in Lebanon, the ISF said in a statement Saturday. The suspects’ arrest came after the ISF placed them under surveillance for four days and thwarted an abduction they attempted in the Aley town of Ain Jdeideh, Mount Lebanon, on June 10. The four Syrians tracked a couple in their vehicle before intercepting the car. At this point, the ISF swooped in and arrested three of the would-be abductors while the fourth escaped. The three men are aged 39, 28 and 26. During questioning, the men confessed to plotting to kidnap a Lebanese employee at an Arab embassy in the country with the help of two Tunisian sisters whose job was to lure the employee to an agreed-upon destination. After further investigation, police arrested another three Syrian men, aged 29, 23 and 31 on suspicion of having ties with the original three. Police also discovered the mastermind behind the attempted kidnappings of the group, a 33-year-old Syrian man who lived in a Beirut hotel but fled following the arrest of the members of his gang. The ISF also arrested the two Tunisian sisters, 28 and 23, who confessed to taking orders from the ringleader at the hotel, who had instructed them to lure any man who looks rich to the gang with the aim of kidnapping him for a ransom. Police are currently looking for the ringleader and the man who escaped arrest in Ain Jdeideh.