The number of people arrested in connection with the TikTok pedophile network case now stands at 10. On the instructions of Tanios Saghbini, the public prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal in charge of the case, the cybercrime office arrested an undisclosed tenth individual on Wednesday.
“The new suspect was arrested after a lengthy interrogation by the cybercrime office, which lasted until past midnight on Tuesday evening,” according to judicial sources.
The man in question is “a financial intermediary between members of the network in Lebanon and abroad. He used to pay thousands of dollars to gang members in the country via money transfers or in cash,” the sources told This is Beirut.
The judicial authorities are endeavoring to identify all those involved in this sordid affair, whether in Lebanon or abroad. The investigation remains at the preliminary stage. It is being conducted with the utmost discretion, above all to avoid exposing the victims and their families to any danger, but also to succeed in arresting all the members of this criminal network.
In this context, Judge Saghbini sent a memorandum to the Directorate General of General Security to find out whether one of the members of the network, who was identified as Hassan S., was in Lebanon or abroad, and if so, when did he leave the country.
Saghbini had previously “issued a search and arrest warrant for Hassan S. on suspicion of involvement in the network.”
The individual in question “had appeared in a video that went viral on social networks, abusing minors.” The investigators are also in possession of “recordings in which he blackmails a certain Paul M., nicknamed ‘Jay’, based in Sweden, whose name is circulating as one of the network’s financial supporters.”
Judge Saghbini also sent a rogatory commission via Interpol to the judicial authorities of certain countries, requesting their assistance in this case.
Over a month ago, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was contacted by the parents of eight minors who had been sexually abused and forced to take drugs.
Initial investigations led to the identification of some thirty people who were part of a network using the TikTok application to “lure” their prey, children and teenagers.
Banning TikTok in Lebanon?
Many voices were raised calling for a ban on the use of the TikTok application in Lebanon. This prompted a response from the office of the Minister of Telecommunications, who explained in a statement that “the blocking of any private site or application such as TikTok should be done on the basis of a judicial decision, in accordance with legal protocols.”
The Ministry of Telecommunications reiterated that it is “an executive authority (…) and does not have the power to ban an application.”
