By Van Meguerditchian
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s most wanted criminal, sought on more than 350 arrest warrants, has been arrested in a raid by the Internal Security Forces in the Bekaa village of Brital.
A recent murder of an 87-year-old man in the village, notorious for harboring part of Lebanon’s car-theft industry, is believed to have sparked the capture.
Following weeks of investigation by personnel from the ISF Information Branch, 34-year old Abbas Abu Monzer Tleis was arrested at dawn on Thursday in his residence, located on a hillside in the village.
An ISF statement after the arrest said that Tleis a.k.a. “Abbas Commandos,” was one of the country’s most dangerous individuals and wanted on more than 350 arrest warrants on various crimes, including murder, mugging and drug dealing.
According to the statement, Tleis’ most recent act was allegedly masterminding the killing of 87-year-old Abbas Saleh, who reportedly owed Tleis $70,000.
A security source told The Daily Start that Tleis’ accomplices strangled Saleh to death in his home in an attempt to force him to return the money.
The source said the ISF had set up several checkpoints at various points in the northern Bekaa since Saleh’s murder on Feb. 6.
“During that period the ISF seized several stolen cars and arrested two Syrians in connection with Tleis,” said the source in reference to the arrests made at various checkpoints. “The arrests made eight days ago significantly helped in locating the wanted individual [Tleis],” the source added.
According to the source, one of the Syrians in custody, identified by the initials A.M., confessed to investigators that he had helped deliver several stolen cars from different locations in the country to Tleis in Brital.
The source added that ISF personnel concluded that the suspect was in one of the apartments in a three-unit building located on a hill in Brital.
“After clearing out two of the apartments, the ISF personnel had to storm the third apartment, where they found Tleis,” the source added.
However, Tleis was found with his 5-year-old son, who he quickly used as a human shield to avoid arrest, the source said.
“Tleis was unable to use any of his weapons and he was forced to surrender,” the source added.
Tleis’ arrest marked a turning-point in the ISF’s ongoing campaign to curb nationwide car thefts and other criminal acts.
Both President Michel Sleiman and caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud telephoned Major General Ashraf Rifi, the commander of the ISF, to congratulate him on the achievement of the ISF crime control team, for the arrest of what they called Lebanon’s “most dangerous” wanted man.
For his part, Rifi praised the role of the ISF and its officers in the Bekaa for their planning and close follow-up in bringing violators of the law into justice.
“We have brought the situation of criminals at large back under control, and the plan we implemented was supported by Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud,” Rifi told the state-run National News Agency.
Rifi said criminals throughout the country take advantage of every political crisis to expand their operations, referring to the current negotiations over forming a new Cabinet.
“Every time the country experiences political uncertainty, confusion hits most sectors and criminals exploit that situation; as a result, car thefts and house robberies intensify,” Rifi added.
Rifi urged the ISF to be fully ready to maintain order and clamp down on criminal acts. He added that 49 other wanted individuals were arrested during ISF’s latest security cleanup.
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