Conflict Incident Report

Syrians arrested on suspicion of people smuggling

Date of incident:

November 17, 2017

Death toll:

0persons

Number of Injured:

0persons

Actors/Parties Involved:

Syrian Civilians/Refugees

Four Syrian nationals were arrested aboard a boat on charges of people smuggling.

The arrest occurred after reliable information was gathered about a non-Lebanese vessel about to sail from Beirut’s port, allegedly to smuggle people to Turkey and Europe.

The information was passed on to Beirut Port security, which conducted surveillance on the vessel and tailed the boat after it embarked. The captain and his three-man crew – all Syrian nationals – were then returned to the port for interrogation.

The boat had reportedly had its name changed from Zus to Radwan, after its ownership was transferred from a Turkish national, identified as Hassan Hamama, to a Syrian.

Hamama worked with the head of the network known as ‘Abu Nadim’ to smuggle Syrians and Kurds. This voyage was set to transfer people from Beirut’s port to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus and to the Netherlands, in exchange for large sums of money.

This process allegedly was established in coordination with partners residing in Lebanon’s Tripoli, Syria’s Lattakia and Turkey’s Mersin.

The three sailors had reportedly obtained documents and permits from a Syrian national identified as Samir al-Mukhtar.

All of the detainees were handed over to the Internal Security Forces for continued investigations, while other accomplices are reportedly being pursued.

Source Link:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2017/Nov-17/426840-…

Primary category:

Arrest/Detention

Secondary Category:

Illicit Trade/Trafficking/Smuggling

Classification of conflict (primary):

Border conflicts (Syrian border)

Violations, disputes and/or conflicts arising between rival armed groups along the Lebanese/Syrian borders which involve parties or militant groups from the Lebanese and Syrian side in both Lebanon and Syria. These conflicts also encompass transnational groups (such as faith-based regional groups, e.g. ISIS, al-Nusra Front) that cannot be considered as strictly Syrian, Lebanese or of any other national entity.

Classification of conflict(secondary):

Individual acts of violence

Violent incidents which do not have a specific or a known political agenda but are caused by the general proliferation of weapons, of trained and untrained soldiers or militants, by the general inefficiency of the Justice system, and past-traditions and histories of violence within society.

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Conflict Incident Report

Syrians arrested on suspicion of people smuggling