Gang of alleged robbers and murderers in the Bekaa apprehended

BEIRUT — The Public Relations Division of the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the arrest of a gang allegedly guilty of armed robbery and murder in the Bekaa region, reported the state-run National News Agency.

Here’s what we know:

    • “There have recently been several armed robberies in the Bekaa region, by a professional gang using military weapons, masks and four-wheel drive vehicles without plates, and its members impersonating security personnel, which sparked a state of panic among the citizens,” read the statement.

    • Some of these crimes include the killing of a Syrian national and the injury of his 22-year-old son, during an armed robbery of their house in al-Omariya in February.

    • Following investigations, the Zahle Judicial Detachment of the Judicial Police Unit was able to single out the “mastermind” of the gang, who is allegedly infamous for armed robberies and theft.

    • Patrols from the judicial detachment ambushed and arrested him, after closely monitoring the man whom they only identified as a Syrian man born in 1988. He confessed to the creation of a gang and to more than 10 armed robberies in the areas of Zahle and Baalbek.

    • The Zahle Judicial Detachment was also able to arrest the rest of the gang members, identifying them as three Syrian men and one Lebanese man.