(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian intelligence has arrested a senior officer in the army after investigations revealed his role in a corrupt deal which supplied the army with ineffective bullet proof vests that resulted in the death of a large number of regime fighters.
Speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, a well-informed source within the regime army said that the Officers Security Branch (293), with personal orders from Bashar al-Assad, arrested Major General Abdel Basset Loki, the head of mission management. They arrested him three days ago and about four months after he was transferred to the General Headquarters which is considered the cemetery of senior officers with whom the regime is angry.
According to the source, who declined to mention his name, the regime was not satisfied with just arresting Major General Loki, but withdrew immunity from him and seized all his and his wife’s movable and immovable properties. The regime has never before made an arrest at this level.
The source revealed that the Major General was involved in a deal worth more than 80 million US Dollars to import bulletproof vests from China. The source explained that investigations proved that the vests are not bullet proof, but filled with cheap metal materials.
The source added that according to the investigation, the real cost of the deal did not exceed 10 million US Dollars for the price of the bulletproof vests. The bulk of the transactions were the officer and the committee working on the deal moving money into their bank accounts and buying real estate inside and outside the country.
The source explained that a report with the large number of victims killed by bullets penetrating the bulletproof vests provided by the regime as protective gear to fighters embarrassed Bashar al-Assad. He responded to investigating judge’s request after the latter visited him in his office and presented the results of the investigations, by lifting the immunity from Major General Abdel Basset Loki and ordering his arrest.
The Officers Security Branch or Branch 293 is very sensitive because it contains the files of army officers, monitors them and plays a prominent role in officers being promoted, removed, transferred or appointed to their positions. The head of the Branch has a direct line of communication with Bashar al-Assad.
Activists see the Branch as another symbol of the corruption of the regime given its direct in influencing promotions within the army. Only officers who satisfy al-Assad and the regime intelligence about their loyalty are promoted while those who suffer the ‘regime’s wrath’ are in the best of situations transferred to marginal positions within the army.
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