State security arrests Kesrouan customs employee for alleged electricity theft

The General Directorate of State Security has arrested a customs employee in the Kesrouan region for allegedly stealing electricity from the national grid for five years and illegally reselling it to local subscribers, the Directorate said in a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency on Saturday.

According to an official statement issued by the Directorate’s Media, Guidance and Public Relations Department, the arrest took place on Wednesday in the town of Ghabaleh (Kesrouan).

“In continuation of its efforts to combat corruption and violations against the public electricity network,” the statement reads, “the Mount Lebanon Regional Directorate – Kesrouan Office arrested a customs employee on charges of stealing electricity from the Electricite du Liban (EDL) network for approximately five years and selling it to subscribers under the pretense that it came from his private generator,” the statement explained.

State Security agents reportedly seized the cables used in the operation and, in coordination with Electricite du Liban, removed the unauthorized connections.

“Legal proceedings were carried out against him under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” the statement concluded.

Lebanon faces a severe and ongoing electricity crisis due to a lack of supply, with households receiving only a few hours of electricity per day from the public utility EDL. This forces many Lebanese to rely on costly private diesel generators.