Earlier this month, Lebanese authorities arrested a group including a former Syrian intelligence officer and several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of Syria's new government and received training from Iran-backed Hezbollah. The group has denied the allegation.
The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the military court "charged 14 Lebanese and Syrian individuals, including five detainees, with offences including 'forming a criminal gang, receiving training in military weapons, explosives, sniper rifles, and operating drones, with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts on the Syrian coast'".
According to the official, Safi mentioned "bringing more than 40 officers and members of Assad's remnants from the Syrian coast through illegal border crossings in northern Lebanon, in batches of five people at a time".
The official added that "a Hezbollah official who is currently in hiding oversaw the smuggling of members of the network and their training" in Hezbollah camps in eastern Lebanon.
According to the judicial official, the network is led by a former Syrian army major general who is close to Assad and who, like the ousted longtime ruler, is now based in Moscow.