BEIRUT, May 22 (KUNA) -- Lebanese authorities detained on Friday four nationals on charges of spying for Israel, as part of an ongoing relentless campaign designed to nip these clandestine espionage networks in the bud.
Security sources said the government security personnel arrested "a leading member of the network of collaboration with the Israeli enemy." They added that the man, who hailed from the southern village of Al-Qusair, was detained on the coastal road south of Beirut after a cat-and-mouse operation that lasted for 36 hours.
The detainee "is a notorious agent and a brother of one of the other arrestees," held on similar charges, the sources said.
The sources said the man was nabbed after arresting two others, a man and a woman, in the southern region of Shebaa.
Earlier, the sources said a fourth suspect, nammed Mustafa Hassan Su'aid, who hailed from the village of Al-Qusair, located in the region of Marjayoun, was detained in South Lebanon and taken to a security station for interrogations. The sources said Su'aid was suspected of having links with another suspected agent, Nasser Nader, from the village of Al-Ghandouriah.
The detentions were the latest actions by the authorities against a network of espionage for Israel.
Lebanese permanent mission at the UN, on Wednesday, protested that the espioange activities in Lebanon for Israel constituted a violation of the UN resolution 1701. Beirut also called on the UN peace-keeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) to help bring back at least two Lebanese also suspected of espionage. The two Lebanese have recently fled to Israel across the borders.
The authorities have declared discovering at least nine espionage networks spying for Israel in the country. (end) an.rk KUNA 221850 May 09NNNN