BEIRUT:
The office of a prominent lawyer and the National Social Security Fund in
Badaro were among the targets of a gang of thieves who were formally charged
two weeks ago with robbing and vandalizing the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, the
Internal Security Forces said in a statement Friday.
The
ISF arrested three men, Mohammad Merhi, Issa Merehbi and Charbel Mrad, formally
charging them late last month with looting and vandalizing the Greek Orthodox
archdiocese in Ashrafieh.
According
to the statement, in addition to the archdiocese, the three men confessed to 21
other burglaries, including one that targeted lawyer Akram Azouri’s office, and
another at the NSSF’s branch in Badaro.
Azouri
is a lawyer who represents Jamil Sayyed, the former head of General Security
who was detained for four years in the 2005 assassinationof former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri.
Other
burglaries allegedly perpetrated by the gang included Seventeen Company in
Ashrafieh in 2007, Analytical Testing Laboratories in Ashrafieh in 2008, Rio,
Berlin, and Corleone, restaurants located in Ashrafieh and Gemmayzeh, La Caddi
Supermarket in Ashrafieh, two villas in Gemmayzeh and Sabtieh, a pharmacy in
the Gallery Semaan area and a diamond processing factory in Antelias in 2010.
The
men also confessed to attempting to rob Bank of Kuwait and the Arab World in
the town of Khaldeh.
A
number of stolen items were returned to their owners while police confiscated
the rest, in addition to the tools that the thieves used including masks, ropes
and scissors.
Police
also arrested Nadia Riqa, who was charged alongside the men as an accomplice to
the crime for making an agreement with the thieves to sell the stolen items in
and outside the country.
Five other people were also charged in absentia by Beirut Public
Prosecutor George Karam for being involved in the crimes. According to the
charge, Merhi, Merehbi and Mrad formed an armed gang with the aim of engaging
in theft and mugging.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-17/157157-archdiocese-burglars-confess-to-committing-21-other-robberies.ashx#axzz1gtLKaQwu
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