BEIRUT: Two men were arrested Friday in South Lebanon on suspicion of stealing copper electrical wire, after a recent rash of such thefts.

The National News Agency said that the two men, both age 22, were detained by police in the Khardali region of Nabatieh, after the stolen material was found in their possession.

The NNA added that the same police force apprehended a man wanted on an outstanding warrant of fraud. Meanwhile, the Central News Agency said police arrested nine men in separate incidents for the possession of unlicensed guns and drug possession and trafficking in Beirut.

It said the arrests took place in the neighborhoods of Caracas, Sabra, Ain al-Mreisseh, Ashrafieh and Tariq al-Jadideh. The nationalities of those detained were Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian.