Former Security Officers Affiliated with Israel Spy Network
Army intelligence arrested a former security forcer, the fifth member of an Israel-linked spy network described by the Lebanese media as the "Alam cell."
As Safir said G.M., a former General Security Department officer, operated a bus to transport people between the southern town of Rmeish and Beirut. Sources also told the newspaper that the man was locked up for 3 months in the notorious Khiam detention center in the mid 1990s.
The first arrest was made on Saturday. Adib al-Alam who is a retired Lebanese general, was seized at his office near Beirut on suspicion of spying for Israel.
The detention of the ex-general from the General Security Department along with his wife Hayat is among several arrests in recent months linked to spying for Israel.
Alam”s nephew, Joseph, a General Security Department Corporal was also held.
Media reports said Friday that interrogation with the three detainees led to the arrest of a fourth member of the spy network.
Sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and head of the intelligence bureau Wissam al-Hassan informed Hizbullah official Wafiq Safa last week that the ring leader Adib al-Alam had made "infiltrations into Hizbullah ranks."
The sources said that Hizbullah took extra measures and precautions upon receiving information about the network”s achievements. The group also decided to arrest any suspect involved in the spy ring.
Al-Hayat said security forces decided to arrest Alam after monitoring his moves for more than 18 months for fears that his spying activities would put the security of Hizbullah and its leadership under threat.