Police arrest 60-year-old for swindling foreigners

Police arrested a man wanted for impersonating a police officer and robbing foreigners on over 13 occasions, the Internal Security Forces said Thursday. An ISF statement said police arrested the man, 60, in the Beirut neighborhood of Basta following investigations. The man would allegedly drive in his black C240 Mercedes in Beirut and Mount Lebanon and stop foreigners. He would inform them that he was a security officer working for a high-ranking official and that they needed to evacuate the street immediately for a convoy to pass. The suspect would then ask the victims to get into his car and he would ask for their wallets in order to search them, after which he would steal their money and leave them stranded on the road. While the police questioned the suspect, a number of his victims identified him, the statement added.