The General Directorate of Internal Security Forces - Public Relations Division announced in a statement that "on July 5, 2024, a person named (H.Y.), born in 1997, a Lebanese national who works with a money exchanger in the Hara Saida area, reported that after exchanging amounts of money belonging to his employer at currency exchange shops in the city of Tyre, while passing through the town of Kharayeb, he was intercepted by unknown individuals in a vehicle with tinted windows, who robbed him at gunpoint of $205,000 and his mobile phone after firing shots at his 'GMC' vehicle and fleeing to an unknown location.
Immediately, the involved units in the Information Branch initiated field and investigative procedures to uncover the circumstances of the incident, identify the perpetrators, and arrest them. As a result of data analysis, it became evident that the complainant colluded with the perpetrators. On the same date, he was interrogated, and after being confronted with evidence proving his collusion in the operation, he admitted to participating with two individuals: A.Q. (born in 1996, Lebanese) and A.Z. (born in 1996, Lebanese) in fabricating the fictional robbery in the Abu As'ad area, stealing the money and hiding it in preparation for later division.
He concocted the story of being robbed at gunpoint for over $200,000, and the Information Branch uncovered his collusion with his accomplices in the act and arrested them, recovering a significant portion of the stolen amount.
On July 5, 2024, following careful monitoring and surveillance, the branch's patrols carried out raids and ambushes in the Hara Saida area, resulting in the arrest of the two mentioned individuals. During their interrogation, they confessed to coordinating with the complainant to execute a fictional robbery on the Sidon/Tyre highway in the Abu As'ad area, stealing the funds he was transporting for his employer, hiding it, and later dividing it among themselves.
Upon searching their homes, the majority of the stolen amount was found, totaling $141,750, along with the weapon used (a pump-action shotgun), the mask and gloves, and a 'Chevrolet' vehicle used in the robbery – all of which were confiscated. The seized amount was handed over to the complainant, legal measures were taken against them, and they were placed in custody along with the seized items based on the court's instructions."
