The General Directorate of Internal Security Forces - Public Relations Division announced today, Thursday, that "as part of the ongoing efforts by the Internal Security Forces to combat theft operations in various Lebanese regions, and following an increase in recent incidents of theft of electrical wires from the public network in Mount Lebanon, specialized units in the Information Branch intensified their procedures in areas of theft occurrence. Through investigative and field monitoring, information was gathered about two unknown individuals in a black BMW without license plates, committing thefts of electrical cables from the public network of Électricité du Liban in the Kharroub region.
As a result of the investigations and inquiries carried out by the branch's patrols, the identity of the suspects was established as: B. N. (born in 1970, Lebanese) and M. N. (born in 1997, Lebanese). On November 14, 2023, after precise monitoring, one of the branch's patrols managed to arrest them in the Damour area while in the mentioned vehicle. Upon searching them and the vehicle, tools used for stealing cables were found, including metal cutters, a saw, gloves, and screwdrivers. During the investigation, they confessed to executing dozens of thefts of cables from the public network in several areas of Mount Lebanon, especially from the towns of Shhim, Jadra, Dariya, Basaba, Chouf, Sabilin, Burjain, Jieh, Wardaniyah, and Ramila, in addition to thefts from the southern Ansar region.
They would patrol late at night, identify the locations they intended to steal from, and upon confirming that the electricity supply was cut off, would climb utility poles and cut the electrical wires using the cutters and metal sectors, then pack them into the vehicle to be sold the next day at scrap dealerships in the southern suburbs and the south. They also confessed to using drugs. Following the follow-up actions by the Information Branch, they raided scrap areas in the suburbs and Douair, seizing a quantity of stolen cables, sealing these locations with red wax, and imposing travel bans on their owners. The seized cables were handed over to Électricité du Liban.
Legal proceedings were initiated against them, and they were referred to the competent authority based on judicial indications."
