BEIRUT: The intelligence directorate of the Lebanese Army has recovered and freed the abducted Saudi citizen Mashari al-Mutairi after a security operation near the border with Syria.
The army command said in a statement on Tuesday that several of those involved in the abduction were arrested.
After his release, Mashari al-Mutairi was taken to the Lebanese Ministry of Defence under heavy security protection, Arab News reported.
The interior minister said the army searched the northern Bekaa region to free the Saudi citizen and that nine people had been apprehended in connection with the kidnapping.
Saudi envoy to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari said during a press briefing that Mutairi passed all medical tests carried out after his captivity.
Mutairi, an administrative worker in the Saudi Arabian Airlines’ Beirut office, is now protected by the Army Intelligence Office in Hermel.
The abduction was reportedly carried out on Saturday night in the city of Beirut. The abductors used two stolen vehicles and demanded a $400,000 ransom for him. The Lebanese military identified four abductors and raided their homes.
Army raids
The military said three of the kidnappers were disguised in army uniforms. They were arrested during raids in the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood in Baalbek and Chtaura.
Some raids were conducted to pressurize the kidnappers to release Al-Mutairi. The abductors planned to shift Al-Mutairi to neighbouring Syria through an area near the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Najib Mikati, the Caretaker Prime Minister, said the government would continue to protect nationals and foreigners in the country.
On Monday, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Lebanon said it was contacting Lebanese authorities in Beirut to find the circumstances of the disappearance of a Saudi national.
Instructions had been issued to the Saudi Embassy employees in Lebanon not to move around on the capital’s streets.
