4 charged for trying to sell infant
Would-be buyer tipped off police Mohammed
Zaatari
Daily Star correspondent
Four people have been arrested for attempting to sell a
40-day-old baby girl for $25,000, police said Thursday.
The judicial police in the South named Ibrahim Ahmad Reda Sayyed, Ali Fadlallah Sheaib,
his wife Zaynab and his aunt Damalhana, as the arrested members of the gang. They all come
from the Bekaa village of Ain Wadi Kaara.
According to security sources, Ibrahim’s brother had the baby girl through a
temporary marriage, but did not to tell his wife and family about it. He gave the girl to
his brother Ibrahim, who referred his brother to Sheaib, who was unable to have children
of his own.
The father asked Sheaib if he wanted to take and raise the girl, the sources said. But
Sheaib took the girl with the intention of selling her. He spoke to his wife Zaynab and
aunt Damalhana, who volunteered to find a client to buy the baby girl at the $10,000 price
that Sheaib had set. Damalhana planned to sell the baby girl for $20,000 or more without
telling her nephew.
The aunt found a client who was willing to pay $25,000, but because several potential
clients were approached, authorities were tipped off to the deal. A client working with
the ISF told Sheaib to deliver the baby girl in Manara in Beirut. After money changed
hands, the ISF arrested Sheaib.
According to security sources, the Sayyed brothers have another brother, Abbas, who was
said to have killed the baby girl two weeks ago.
According to private sources, Abbas could be the father involved.
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