| I don't imagine anything's going to come of this. Nothing's come from the previous dozen deaders. |
 Investigators have discovered that the booby-trapped Renault detonated by remote control in the assassination of MP and journalist Gebran Tueni entered Lebanon through the port of Tripoli last March, according to sources close to the investigation. The sources said the white, early 1990s model 19 Renault, which was approved by Lebanese customs upon entry, was unregistered and had been sold several times since arriving in the country.
| So who was the latest purchaser? |
They added that Investigating Magistrate Rashid Mezher Tuesday interrogated the importer of the car, the owner of the agency from which it was sold and the man who delivered the car to the initial buyer. All three will be held for interrogation until the identity of the buyer is identified.
| That would appear to be the key person to talk to, I'd guess. You can talk to the guy who sold me my car for ten years and there's not a lot he could tell you about me, if he remembers me at all... |
On Monday police interrogated a former owner of the car, but it was confirmed that he had recently sold it.
The sources said investigations have shown the assassination was "very carefully" planned and that Tueni was under surveillance from the moment he landed at the airport in Beirut Sunday.
| I'd guess he was under surveillance before he got on the plane in Gay Paree... |
It is also believed the car had been parked at the bomb scene a mere two hours before the explosives were detonated at 9 a.m. The sources further explained that the 40 kilograms of dynamite used in the blast had been placed in the shape of a cone facing the street so as to increase the destructive force of the explosion that killed Tueni and two others and wounded 30 others. Mezher has interrogated 24 individuals in the investigation, most of whom were foreign employees working near the bomb site, in addition to four factory owners. The magistrate also received a report of the damages caused by the blast, which included 44 vehicles, in addition to material damage suffered by nearby buildings, shops and factories. |