
Security forces in the southern suburbs of Beirut during the implementation of the security plan in May 2024. (Credit: Husam Chbaro/Annahar)
BEIRUT — The alleged "mastermind" behind a pick-pocket gang operating in Beirut and Mount Lebanon has been arrested in the Sports City in Beirut, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement Tuesday.
The suspect is an unregistered 33-year-old man, the ISF said in a statement.
After identifying and monitoring the gang, its leader was apprehended "in the Sports City area while riding a blue motorcycle, which was seized," the ISF said. They also seized a Mercedes car used for the schemes "in a scrap yard in the Tripoli area."
During interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in multiple fraudulent theft operations along with others, using the seized car to target many individuals in the Beirut and Mount Lebanon areas, the ISF stated. "The gang would stop people under the pretense of exchanging money for charity donations, use sleight of hand, and take an amount of money without the victim realizing it. The areas where they carried out their operations include Airport Road, Corniche al-Mazraa, Cola's roundabout, the vicinity of the Kuwaiti Embassy, Barbir and Jnah."
The suspect has been handed over to the judiciary. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining gang members, the statement concluded.