Three Lebanese, alleged gang members, arrested for extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested on Thursday two alleged members of the same gang, both Lebanese, along with their accomplice, who extorted "under the threat of a firearm" hundreds of thousands of dollars from two Lebanese citizens in two separate incidents, according to a statement published Sunday and cited by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The first incident took place on March 31, 2025. "Three individuals ... stole, under the threat of a firearm, the sum of $150,000 from a citizen, after cunningly luring him to a hotel in Sahel Alma," in Kesrwan, reported the ISF. "They tied his hands and feet with adhesive tape, then fled," the statement says.

The second incident occurred a week later, on April 8, following the same modus operandi. "Three unidentified individuals similarly stole under the threat of a firearm the sum of $350,000 from another citizen in Antelias, after fraudulently luring him under the pretense of a cryptocurrency purchase, before fleeing," the same source explains.

Following an investigation conducted by the ISF, "it was established that the suspects belonged to the same gang," of which two members, M. H. H., born in 1983, and A. A., born in 1980, both Lebanese nationals, were arrested Thursday, April 24, "the first in Beit Shama (Bekaa) and the second in the Galerie Semaan area (southern suburbs of Beirut), during a simultaneous and swift operation," the statement said.

"During their interrogation, the two individuals confessed to participating in the two armed robberies in collaboration with other accomplices, sharing the stolen sums among them. They also revealed that the intermediary tasked with luring the victims into the trap is a certain M. H. (born in 1961, Lebanese), who was arrested by another patrol of the division on April 25, 2025," sated the ISF, which specified that "during his interrogation, he admitted to the charges against him."

The search continues to arrest the other members of the gang, the ISF said, adding that these arrests are taking place "as part of the ongoing follow-up ... to pursue gangs guilty of theft and fraud in different Lebanese regions and arrest their members."