October 14, 2026
The first investigating judge in Mount Lebanon, Nada Al-Asmar, issued a presumptive decision in the case of the explosion of the “Solopharm” warehouse for importing and distributing medicines in the Choueifat area, which occurred on the morning of the fifth of last May. The decision included charging the user, Hassan Ibrahim Hamza, with intentionally setting a fire, described theft, using two hand grenades, and fabricating crimes.
The facts of the case can be summarized at approximately seven-thirty in the morning, when the accused was preparing orders inside the storage department for light-sensitive medicines. Following two explosions, a fire broke out, which one of the workers was able to put out. The subsequent inventory resulted in the loss of a quantity of medicines and damage to others. The company estimated the value of the lost goods at about $27,000, while the distribution official estimated it at about $20,000, confirming that the inventory that preceded the accident was identical.
On May 19, the company filed a complaint against an unknown person for the crimes of arson and theft, and suspicions were later directed towards Hamza for his presence in the warehouse prior to the explosion. In turn, on June 1, Hamza filed a counter-complaint, accusing the company and its officials of orchestrating the explosion to target him and concealing evidence of the alleged sale of medicines, pointing out the delay in informing the security forces and deleting a clip from the surveillance recordings in which one of its cameras was facing upward.
Reports and forensic examinations confirmed that the seized fragments and metal pieces belonged to a defensive hand grenade and its detonator. Surveillance cameras showed Hamza being alone in the room and leaving it moments before the second explosion, without detecting anyone else, which the decision considered serious evidence proving his connection to the introduction and use of the two bombs.
For his part, Hamza, who was arrested in person on September 21 after being detained on the 10th of the same month, denied the charges against him, adhering to his claim that the company sells counterfeit medicines and that the accusation came in response to his complaint. On the other hand, the company’s director and partner, Amer Tabbara, stated that he did not inspect the place until two days later and that the suspicion of theft emerged after the inventory was conducted, while the distribution official confirmed that he did not notice any unusual behavior from Hamza before the incident.
The judicial decision concluded that the accused’s act was considered a felony of intentionally setting a fire and fabricating crimes, and he was suspected of committing the misdemeanors of theft described and using two bombs, with the necessity of trying him before the Criminal Court in Mount Lebanon. This decision remains speculative until the Criminal Court decides on the evidence and defenses and gives the final say in its ruling.
