Saudi kidnap victim freed in Lebanon army raid

3-day ordeal in lawless border town after abduction by criminal gang Lebanese troops on Tuesday rescued a Saudi citizen kidnapped and held for ransom by an organized crime gang in a three-day ordeal.

Mushari Al-Mutairi, who works for the Kingdom’s national airline Saudia, was abducted late on Saturday night after he left Karizma nightclub in Beirut and was driving home to Aramoun, 22 km south of the capital.

Five armed and masked men forced him inside their four-wheel drive vehicle and drove him to Qasr, a notoriously lawless LebaneseSyrian border town in the Bekaa Valley. They demanded a ransom of $400,000.

A security source told Arab News the kidnapping was carried out by members of the Jaafar family, led by Hussein Saadoun Jaafar. “These are organized gangs. Their aim is to kidnap for ransom,” the source said. “Army intelligence carried out raids in the Shrawneh neighborhood of Baalbek, where some of those involved in the kidnapping live, and we arrested a woman from the Jaafar family.

“When criminals break the rules, we break them ourselves to put pressure on the kidnappers. Later, in a secret security operation in the Qasr area, we managed to retrieve the kidnapped person and arrest some of those involved within Lebanese territory, while others managed to escape toward Syrian territory.

“During the Syrian war and Hezbollah’s involvement in this war, the border area in the town of Qasr turned into an area outside the control of the state, where loose weapons abound.”

Twelve people have been arrested in connection with the abduction. The hunt continues for fugitive gang leader Hussein Saadoun Jaafar. The security source said: “The fugitive Hussein Saadoun Jaafar, after a few hours of the security operation, sneaked into the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood in Baalbek and opened fire on a Lebanese army center and the homes of officers and soldiers. The army continues to pursue wanted individuals in this area.”

Al-Mutairi was taken to the Saudi Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, where he met the Saudi ambassador, Walid Bukhari. “The released Saudi citizen is in good health, and we thank the army and internal security forces,” Bukhari said.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati also praised the army’s efforts. “We are keen to ensure the return of all Arab brothers to Lebanon and to prevent any threat to them, as well as to prevent the use of Lebanese territory as a launching pad for any action that threatens the security and safety of Arab countries,” Mikati said.