Army Arrests Human Smuggling Rings

The Lebanese army said Thursday that it broke up two rings of human smugglers whose members were helping migrants enter Europe by sea.

An army communique said intelligence agents arrested Mustafa Mohammed Kalseena, a Lebanese, and Palestinian Khaled Taleb al-Naamani, who were plotting to help people make their way to Europe.

Kalseena was arrested in October last year on the same charges. The boat that he was using to smuggle people was also confiscated, it said.

The military intelligence also arrested Palestinian Suleiman Ahmed Zaarour who was plotting as part of another ring to help people flee the country, said the communique.

The army found in the possession of the suspects around 29,000 dollars and LL25 million in addition to the lists of names they were planning to smuggle through Lebanon's northern coast, it added.

The suspects are being questioned under the supervision of the judiciary.

G.K.

M.T.