Beirut police officers investigating the botched 60 Minutes child abduction were able to track down Tara Brown after googling her name, according to reports.
Brown was jailed in April along with three of her colleagues – producer Stephen Rice, sound recordist David Ballment and cameraman Ben Williamson.
The four spent two weeks in a Lebanese prison on kidnapping charges following the botched child recovery operation of Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner’s two young children, who were snatched from a bus stop in Beirut on April 6.
According to ABC’s Australian Story, intelligence officers had worked out that Brown and her team were Australian television correspondents via a quick Google search.
Tara Brown was identified by Beirut police via a Google search before the botched child abduction in April
Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov told the show: ‘They’d worked out that among them were a couple of very well known Australian television correspondents so they knew something was up.
‘On the day of the abduction itself the intelligence officers see members of the abduction crew, who they knew had come from the boat, leave the hotel in a small grey car. But they didn’t know where the car was going.
‘They didn’t have the capacity to follow it but they phoned it in and they knew something was up.’
Yasmine Hamza whose house was being used as a safe house after the abduction took place said that Brown left Sally Faulkner and her two children at her house and said she felt sorry for the young mother.
Sally Faulkner (pictured with her two children) were left in the Beirut safe house alone by Brown and the 60 Minutes crew
Brown and the 60 minutes crew were detained not long after they left the safe house
‘We didn’t know what to do. I can’t throw a woman with her kids out into the street,’ Hamza said.
Sally didn’t sleep the whole night from anxiety and fear. She started to cry and make phone calls but no one would answer her.’
The safe house within hours of the abduction became compromised and police raided the next day arresting Sally and reclaiming the children.
The 60 minutes crew were detained not long after they left the safe house.
According to Sally’s Lawyer Ghassan Moughabghab her estranged husband Ali Elamine dropped the charges that were brought against Sally and the crew of 60 Minutes.
‘He requested $1million US dollars and then he accepted the amount of $500,000.’ Moughabghab said.
Brown along with three of her colleagues spent two weeks in a Lebanese prison on kidnapping charges following the botched child recovery operation
Sally’s estranged husband Ali Elamine requested $1million US dollars and then he accepted the amount of $500,000 as settlement