An alleged smuggler who operated in Akkar, arrested by the police on May 16, 2024. (Credit: Photo provided by Michel Hallak, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the North)
AKKAR — A suspected smuggler, known as "Abu Johnny," alleged to have illegally facilitated the passage of numerous Syrians into Lebanon, was arrested on Thursday by State Security patrol in Akkar, northern Lebanon.
A State Security press release details that during his interrogation, the accused, identified by the initials A.H., confessed to working as a smuggler, mainly using the illegal crossing point known as "al-Sharika al-Mouttahida" to bring Syrians — an average of 20 a day — into the country.
There are an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, having fled Syria sometime during the 13 years since the beginning of the deadly civil war there. Fighting still rages in many areas of the country and Syrians face arbitrary detention — often involving torture — forced conscription, forced disappearances, and dire economic conditions.
A.H., originally from Bkayaa, in Wadi Khaled, in northern Lebanon, said he had been working as a smuggler for three years, receiving payments in exchange for delivering Syrians over the border. State Security alleges he is part of a gang responsible for bringing some migrants further inland, and that the group profited by handling certain migrants' cases with NGOs.
"Abu Johnny" was arrested by the Qobeiyat office of State Security while he was in a tobacco store that doubles as an illegal money exchange office. State Security is continuing the investigation in pursuit of his accomplices.
In recent months, the Lebanese Army and security forces have ramped up efforts to prevent Syrians from entering Lebanon illegally, either to settle or to continue on, via sea, to European shores. These actions take place amid a wave of anti-Syrian rhetoric in the Lebanese political sphere, and vigilante violence against Syrians on the streets of Beirut and across the country.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Parliament issued a series of recommendations for the executive authority to address the presence of Syrians, the majority of whom are refugees, in Lebanon. Notably, these include a call for donor countries to help strengthen the Lebanese Army and security forces so as to enhance their ability to control the land border with Syria and monitor cross-border movements.