A double murder carried out in the Syrian countryside of Aleppo turned into a cross-border criminal case, following the success of the Information Division of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces in arresting a suspect and seizing some of the stolen items inside a jewelry store in the Bourj Hammoud area, under the follow-up and supervision of the Cassation Public Prosecutor, Judge Ahmed Rami Al-Hajj.
According to the investigation records, the threads of the crime began to unravel following the arrest of the Syrian Omar Muhammad Nahal in the Al-Dora locality. The detainee admitted in his initial statement that, during the month of June 2026, he received a call from his friend Nour Ali Al-Ahmad and his cousin Omar Malik Nahal, during which he was informed of the existence of a house for a well-to-do family in the Azaz area in the Aleppo countryside. He pointed out that Omar Malik Nahal had previously worked for the owner of the house in the field of mechanics, and he knew in advance that the wife was wearing gold jewelry, in addition to the knowledge of another person named Omar Al-Raqqawi of the group’s intention to carry out the crime.
Investigations reported that the crime plan was modified to be limited to waiting for the husband to leave work and killing the wife alone. At approximately six o’clock in the morning, Omar Muhammad Nahal, Omar Malik Nahal, and Nour Ali Al-Ahmad headed to the house on a motorcycle, where Nour remained outside, while the two partners climbed onto the roof of a nearby mosque and from there to the kitchen balcony. After the husband left, the two defendants stormed the bedroom, where Omar Malik Nahal placed a towel on the victim’s face, while Omar Muhammad Nahal stabbed her between 6 and 7 times in the abdomen and chest until she died.
After committing the crime, the perpetrators seized six bracelets, two wide chains, a ring, and earrings, along with a sum of money and other items. To hide the evidence of the crime and burn the body, the perpetrators opened the gas canister and set fire to the house before fleeing.
On the cross-border route, Omar Muhammad Nahal admitted that he secretly kept part of the stolen items, including a wide chain and a ring, and brought them into Lebanese territory smuggling after cleaning them of traces of blood with water and salt. On June 22, 2026, he went to a jewelry store called (JK) in Bourj Hammoud, and sold the pieces, registering the transaction under the fictitious name “Omar Karaja.”
At the signal of Judge Ahmed Rami Al-Hajj, the Matn Information Office moved and conducted an inspection of the records of the jewelry store run by the Lebanese Sarkis Arkin Tarkjian. The records actually showed the completion of a purchase in the name of “Omar Karaja” on the aforementioned date, worth $7,705, in addition to another transaction related to two rings and three bracelets worth $1,920. For his part, Tarkjian confirmed that all jewelry purchases were recorded in private records, and he was unable to identify the suspect’s face due to the large number of customers.
Investigations reported that the authorities in Syria arrested Nour Ali Al-Ahmad and Omar Malik Nahal about two days after committing the crime.
At the Lebanese judicial level, the Public Prosecutor of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, Judge Sami Sader, brought charges against a number of those involved, including Nour Al-Ahmad, Omar Al-Raqqawi, and Sarkis Arkin Tarkjian, in addition to the detainees and those referred to in the file and everyone who appears in the investigation. The prosecution charges included crimes related to murder, theft, entering homes at night, setting fires, and burning a corpse to hide landmarks, based on Articles 549, 639, 640, 587, and 221 of the Penal Code.
Judge Sader referred the file to the First Investigating Judge in Mount Lebanon, Judge Nada Al-Asmar, to initiate and expand the investigative investigations, and to issue the necessary judicial warrants, to complete the course of the investigation into the circumstances of the crime and precisely determine responsibilities, starting with planning and implementation, through smuggling and selling stolen goods, all the way to matching them with the victim’s statements.
