A checkpoint for the Internal Security Forces in Amioun - Koura after the escape of 18 prisoners. (Credit: Photo sent by Michel Hallak/ L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Internal Security Forces on Thursday thwarted six detainees from escaping the Jbaa police station in Iqlim al-Tuffah, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The six detainees "used spoons and knives to dig up a hole in the wall adjacent to the road to sneak through it and escape," the ISF reportedly said in a statement.
After uncovering the scheme, security forces were dispatched to the police station to provide additional support. The detainees were transferred to another detention center, the ISF statement said, adding that an investigation was launched.
In early November, 18 prisoners escaped from Amioun prison in Koura. Security forces managed to apprehend five escapees and a search is still underway for the remaining 13.
The Internal Security Forces deployed patrols and set up checkpoints on all roads leading to the Koura area in Chekka and Madfoun, as well as between Koura and Zgharta, Douma, Tannourine and Dahr al-Ain towards Tripoli, our correspondent in the region reported.
With the judiciary system slowed by yearslong crises and a monthslong judges' strike, many prisoners linger in pre-trial detention for months, or even years, before their cases are brought forth.
Prison escapes have multiplied in recent months as Lebanon is ravaged by poverty and an economic crisis that has seen the value of law enforcement officers' salaries dramatically eroded due to the depreciation of the national currency.