BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have launched an investigation to locate a Saudi national who went missing after being lured to the country’s eastern region of Bekaa to buy a property, officials have said.
But the measures being taken to search for Hussein Al-Shammari are being kept under wraps.
Reports circulating on social media on Monday morning claimed that unidentified people had lured Al-Shammari to one of the hills of Baalbek to sell him real estate. They later kidnapped him and demanded a ransom in exchange for his release.
There is conflicting information about the location of the kidnapping.
Al-Shammari was on the road to Rafic Hariri International Airport after arriving at the airport when he was kidnapped, according to news reports.
A military source told Arab News that the security services had no information about a kidnapping in Lebanon in the past 24 hours or about the nationality of the captive should the kidnapping be confirmed.
But security and judicial services in the Baalbek region have been mobilized, as has the Lebanese military.
Raids began in the early hours of Monday on the house of a wanted person from the Al-Jaafar family in the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood on suspicion of his involvement with other people in previous kidnappings.
Forces confiscated weapons and ammunition but found no captives.
Baalbek-Hermel Gov. Judge Bashir Khader told Arab News that the security forces, army intelligence, and the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces had not received any information or news from any Saudi family reporting that a member of their family had been kidnapped.
He also said that the Saudi diplomatic mission in Lebanon had not reported any information about a Saudi national being kidnapped on Lebanese territory.
Khader said the security services had, however, carried out pre-emptive raids against people involved in previous kidnappings or had precedent.
“The aim of these agencies — if there is a kidnapped person — is to ensure his safety and arrest the perpetrators — if the matter is confirmed — in a way that ensures the captive’s safety.”
Khader stressed that the issue would not go unpunished, although there were hopes for an early breakthrough in the investigation.
Kidnappings for ransom have increased this year in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon due to the deteriorating security situation.
The kidnappers find in Baalbek-Hermel governorate — which is under the control of Hezbollah’s security force — a haven for their protection, weapons, and movements.
They have been using illegal crossings for transferring kidnapped individuals to Syrian territory or moving there themselves to avoid detention.
Official figures indicate an increase in kidnappings this year compared to 2021.
The first three months of 2022 witnessed 24 kidnappings, compared to 17 during 2021, with kidnappers using different methods.
The nationalities kidnapped for ransom include the Lebanese, Syrians, Saudis, Yemenis, and Egyptians.
Some were freed by the Lebanese security forces, while others were released after a ransom was paid.