On Thursday, March 10, 2022, information was made available to the regional gendarmerie unit in Baalbek, about the sale of a newborn girl born in a hospital located in the Bekaa region.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) were swift to investigate and arrested 4 Syrian nationals and 1 Lebanese citizen, identified as follows:
- A.I. (Syrian,1984)
- J.A. (Syrian,1987)
- T.A. (Lebanese,1981)
- A.H. (Syrian,2002)
- J.H. (Syrian,1996)
During the investigation, the detainees confessed to the crime attributed to them.
It was found that the detainee A.I. and his wife J.A. sold their newborn to the individual A.H. who is already wanted by the judiciary under an arrest warrant for a drug offense.
The parents sold him and his sister J.H. their infant for 32 million LBP, which included a down payment of 7,000,000 LBP, the hospital’s delivery costs of 20,000,000 LBP, and 5,000,000 LBP at receiving the baby.
That’s about $1,400 as per the black market rate of 22,000 LBP/USD.
The legal requirement was carried out by the ISF against the detainees, and the newborn was placed in a child welfare association.
