BAALBEK, Lebanon: Lebanese security forces arrested 10 individuals and confiscated 18 stolen cars in the Bekaa Valley Thursday, on the first day of a security plan launched in a region notorious for kidnappings and other crimes.
Braving a snowstorm, Army vehicles rolled into Hor Taala, Brital and surrounding villages known to shelter people involved in kidnappings for ransom, killings, drug smuggling and car thefts.
Taking part in the long awaited operation were units from the Army, Internal Security Forces and the General Security, an Army statement said.
The statement added that the expansive operation, which would last for several days, included a number of raids, the erection of checkpoints and staging patrols in various villages. It said 10 wanted people were arrested so far and 18 stolen cars confiscated.
Security sources told The Daily Star about 1,000 Army soldiers, 500 police and 500 General Security personnel were involved in a joint operation which began at 6 a.m.
But the sources said that most suspects were believed to have fled to Syria, particularly because media outlets had announced the plan would be launched soon.
They dismantled their illicit businesses, including Captagon drug factories, leaving little behind for the security forces to seize, the sources added.
But a senior Army source said the security plan was proceeding in an “excellent” manner.
He said that the military had no information about wanted individuals fleeing to Syria.
The source added that it was up to the government to decide whether it would coordinate with Syrian authorities to hand over these wanted people if it turned out that they actually crossed into Syria.
Officials from the Bekaa Valley, a largely underdeveloped area, argued that socioeconomic development initiatives should be coupled with security plans in order to significantly reduce crime in the area.
The security campaign in the Bekaa Valley is an extension of a similar plan launched last year in north Lebanon by the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
Speaking at the outset of a Cabinet session he chaired at the Grand Serail Thursday, Salam voiced hope that the security plan in the Bekaa Valley would be strictly implemented so that the area becomes safe.
Separately, the Lebanese Army dismantled an explosive device planted on the side of a road in the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, an earlier Army statement said Thursday.
It said members of the Army Intelligence found the device during an overnight patrol in the area of Ras al-Sarj.
“The device, weighing 25 kilograms of highly explosive material, was planted on the side of a road that is frequently used by Army patrols,” the statement said.
Last month, the Army dismantled two rigged cars near Arsal.
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