The Public Relations Department of the Beirut Municipality reported that "following numerous complaints from the residents of the Cola area and its surroundings to the Governor of Beirut, Judge Marwan Abboud, regarding violations under the Cola Bridge and the intimidation of citizens and passersby by individuals occupying a large area under the bridge, Governor Abboud directed Colonel Ali Sabra, the commander of the Beirut Guard Regiment, to put an end to this abnormal situation and remove all types of violations present and arrest the violators."
Consequently, a patrol from the Guard Regiment headed to the mentioned location, where it was found that several newly constructed wooden and cardboard rooms existed along the bridge, inhabited by individuals of non-Lebanese nationalities, some of whom were undocumented. Immediately, the guards conducted a thorough search, discovering that these were hideouts for drug use and other violations. Inside, they found a quantity of drugs and several melee weapons (knives, machetes, blades, etc.) that were used to intimidate and threaten passersby, as well as for robbery and theft.
After concluding the search operations, all types of encroachments present in the area were removed, resulting in the arrest of three non-Lebanese individuals, one of whom had a criminal record with a past conviction for armed robbery. In coordination with the Internal Security Forces, the Beirut police sent a patrol to the scene, where they seized the confiscated items and handed over the three arrested individuals for legal action. It is worth mentioning that this step was welcomed by passersby and local residents who had been suffering greatly from this emerging phenomenon in their area.
