Syrian security forces on Monday announced the arrest of a Jordanian fugitive wanted in the Kingdom on charges of murder, armed robbery and theft, Jordanian official sources said. On June 23, the state prosecution charged Sharif and two of his brothers â Mohammad, who is also on the run and believed to be in Syria and Thaer, who was arrested by the Jordanian authorities â with plotting to commit criminal acts on citizens and their financial assets and possessing an illegal weapon (machinegun) with illicit intent. The prosecution said the defendants have committed several dangerous crimes along with other family members nicknamed the Udwan Mills Gang, because they were captured in a police raid in the Udwan Mills village near the town of Sukhneh.
Mohammad and Sharif have been on the run since escaping from the authorities while being escorted to court from their prison in June 2004, the charge sheet said. The Smadis are also part of a group of 15 men and women described by the authorities as one of the most dangerous criminal gangs to have ever operated in the Kingdom. AFP quoted an Information Ministry official, as saying that Mohammad's wife was also arrested during the clashes.