The General Directorate of State Security - Department of Information, Guidance and Public Relations issued the following statement: “Within the framework of the General Directorate of State Security’s work to combat corruption and waste of public money, and after information became available about some employees in the Beirut Port Operations Department extorting goods clearers and soliciting bribes, the Beirut Port Office in the General Directorate of State Security, in coordination with the Financial Public Prosecution, conducted the necessary investigation with the goods clearers, some of whom admitted to being subjected to blackmail and obstructing their transactions.” By employees of the Beirut Port Operations Department, with the aim of forcing them to pay unlawful sums of money. Based on the recommendation of the competent judiciary, three employees in the Beirut Port Operations Department were summoned, namely (A.Q.), (A.K.), and (M.B.), and during investigation, they admitted that they were receiving money in exchange for facilitating and expediting the transactions of clearing agents and exempting them in some cases from paying port fees belonging to the public treasury.  They were arrested and referred to the competent judiciary based on his recommendation.”