BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A Lebanese security force said Wednesday the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of seven Estonians in Lebanon was handed over by Syria.
Syrian authorities are said to have handed Wael Abbas over to Lebanese authorities after he was caught trying to cross the Lebanese border with forged identification documents.
"Abbas is now at the general security headquarters in Beirut amid heavy security," a security source told Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
Seven Estonian bicyclists kidnapped earlier this year were released in July. A previously unknown group calling itself the Renaissance and Reform Movement issued an e-mail statement to Lebanese media demanding an unspecified ransom for their release. Lebanese authorities had expressed concern that Syria might be behind the abductions.
The security source told the Lebanese newspaper that Abbas lived in Lebanon and had been in trouble with the law before the abductions. A judicial source told the newspaper he wasn't involved in any formal terrorist group, suggesting he was a hired hand.
French authorities took charge of the former captives and took them to the French Embassy in Beirut before turning them over to Estonian officials.
