Five people arrested by the Lebanese army after allegedly participating in a kidnapping in the Khaldeh area south of Beirut. (Credit: the Lebanese Army website)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army released a young man Wednesday who had been kidnapped earlier in the Khaldeh area south of Beirut, the army reported on its website. The five alleged kidnappers were arrested.
An army spokesperson told L'Orient-Le Jour that the alleged kidnappers had demanded ransom from the victim's parents, who contacted the army directly.
Army intelligence services then reportedly identified the suspected kidnappers' location in Aalmane al-Chouf, as they were moving their victim in a two-car convoy.
The five suspects are currently being questioned by the army, which seized three military-grade weapons from their possession, the online statement said.
Kidnappings appear to be on the rise in recent days. Last week, a teacher was briefly kidnapped on her way to work in Brummana before she was freed and security forces arrested the suspected abductors.