The Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces apprehended a gang involved in tunnel activities in downtown Beirut in less than 24 hours, seizing massive quantities of copper and stolen goods after a series of raids in an exceptional operation by the branch.
In detail, on May 24, 2023, a statement was issued by Electricité du Liban regarding large-scale thefts targeting main high-voltage cables, lighting cables, grounding systems, control cabinets, and water pumps within the tunnels of the Central District (Solidere) in Beirut. These activities commenced from the Fouad Chehab Bridge, passing through the banks street and the main switching station "Commercial," extending to the Bank of Syria and Lebanon, then to the maritime base near the Kataeb House, and from the "Commercial" station to "Starkoo."
As a result of field and technical monitoring, the specialized units in the branch identified the identities of the individuals involved in the thefts within less than 24 hours, all of whom were of Syrian nationality.
On May 25 and 26, 2023, as a result of surveillance operations conducted by the special force of the branch, they successfully performed raids and ambushes in the airport road, Rahab, and Al-Marj areas, resulting in the arrest of all involved individuals. During interrogations, they confessed that since the beginning of April 2023, they had carried out dozens of thefts of electrical cables from the tunnels in the Central Beirut area almost every day or every other day, between midnight and 4 a.m. They would cut the cables using a metal saw, and some would monitor the area around the theft site before transferring the stolen cables using "pick-up" trucks to the suburbs for selling them at various scrap metal centers.
Accordingly, the branch identified the names of other participants and the locations to which the stolen goods were transferred, putting them under surveillance before the special force executed raids on these centers in areas such as Chatila, Ti'nael, Deir Ammar, and Deir Zenoun, leading to the arrest of five individuals. The patrols of the branch in Deir Ammar seized a quantity of copper wires weighing approximately 35 tons, around 37 tons of copper ingots, water meter and structure weighings of 745 kg, and a copper melting machine found at the site along with a mold for producing copper ingots, and aluminum ingots marked "Made in Syria." Additionally, in Deir Zenoun, 150 meters of stolen wires were confiscated, and a large quantity of copper was seized in the Chatila area, along with a quantity of aluminum cables. Furthermore, two motorcycles and two pick-up trucks used in the theft operations in Beirut tunnels were seized, which contained twenty high-voltage cables.
The individuals admitted to all charges against them, revealing that the buying price of copper ranged between $6 and $7 per kilogram, which they sold to scrap yard owners who collected it and exported it out of Lebanon through the port, specifically to India. An inspection of the seized cables was carried out by an expert from Electricité du Liban, who confirmed that a large portion of them belonged to the institution as these cables are exclusively used by it.
The tunnel gang in downtown Beirut is now in the custody of the Information Branch, with enormous amounts of copper and stolen goods recovered after a series of raids in an exceptional operation by the branch.
