‘Wanted suspect’ detained in Amman night raid

AMMAN — Police arrested a wanted suspect late Monday night in a raid of a furnished apartment in an east Amman suburb, official sources said Tuesday.

A police unit stormed the premises and arrested the 38-year-old suspect without any major incidents, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

“We received a tip that the suspect, who is classified as dangerous and has been served with four criminal subpoenas, was hiding in a furnished apartment, so our forces stormed it and arrested him,” Sartawi said.

He added that the suspect was referred to the criminal prosecutor for indictment.

A second source told The Jordan Times that the suspect is the brother of Ziad Rai, an individual police described “as one of the most dangerous men in Jordan.”

Rai was killed in August 2012 during a police shoot-out in the Hashemi Shamali suburb that left another wanted suspect dead and eight others injured, including two police officers.

The local press depicted Ziad Rai as a gangster who was involved in alleged protection rackets. He was pictured in several YouTube clips firing automatic rifles at weddings and while walking in the streets of his neighbourhood.