On Wednesday, May 25th, a patrol of the Lebanese Intelligence arrested a national whose initials are H. B. for participating in the kidnapping of the child Rayan Kanaan in Halat, Jbeil on February 2nd.
The suspect confessed to surveilling the area and carrying out the kidnapping, in addition to other felonies such as arms trade and drug trafficking.
The Intelligence branch launched an investigation under the supervision of the judiciary parties as efforts are put to ensure the arrest of his accomplices.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) had previously liberated the child on February 3rd and returned him to his family.
بجهودٍ جبارة تمكنت شعبة المعلومات في المديرية العامة لقوى الامن الداخلي من تحرير الطفل ريان كنعان وإعادته سالماً. مرة جديدة نهنىء ابطال الشعبة وقوى الامن الداخلي على المهام التي يقومون بها حماية لمجتمعم. @LebISF #بوجودكم_نحنا_بأمان
— Bassam Mawlawi (@MawlawiBassam) February 3, 2022
The kidnappers had picked him up in a grey Picanto at a market in Halat while he was with his mother. They then proceeded to ask for a ransom of $250,000 for the child’s release.
Crime rates have been alarmingly increasing in Lebanon as the economic crisis continues to worsen, and they are expected to keep getting higher. The ISF is continuously announcing arrests, mainly over thefts and smuggling, among other crimes.
