Abducted Children Two Years Ago in Playa Del Rey Return Home

Two brothers who allegedly kidnapped their three sons from Playa del Rey and took them out of the country in 2008 were arrested in the Netherlands and the boys were found safe, federal authorities announced Friday. 

George and Jean John Silah were arrested in The Hague Tuesday after being sought by the FBI since 2008, said FBI  spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
  
The two were wanted for the alleged abduction of their three sons, who were taken from their Los Angeles homes.
  
``After following domestic and international leads...agents with the FBI and detectives with the LAPD directed their focus overseas,'' Eimiller said. ``Several months ago the investigation led to the area of Athens, Greece.''
  
The boys' bizarre disappearance occurred in early July 2008, with the boys' mothers saying the children could be in danger from people who may have been trying to kill their fathers.
  
The children are brothers Alexander Silah, now 14, and Zaven Silah, 10, and their cousin Greg Silah, 12.
  
Police said Jean Silah picked up his child, Greg, from his ex-wife for a summer vacation visit on June 23.
  
A court order obligated him to return Greg to his mother by July 2, but he failed to do so. Police said at the time that he had threatened to take their son to his home nation of Syria.
  
At the same time, George Silah had Alexander and Zaven at the home the brothers shared in the 7300 block of West 81st Street. He was scheduled to take his sons on a cruise on July 5, but never made that trip.
  
Police discovered that the brothers had not paid the rent for several months and the home appeared to have been abandoned.
  
Zanni Meguerian, the mother of Alexander and Zaven, and Christine Jeanbart, the mother of Greg, made a series of tearful pleas in the media begging their ex-husbands to return the boys.
  
``The investigative efforts of law enforcement in Greece and the Netherlands resulted in the identification of the Silah brothers and the victim children,'' Eimiller said. ``Once the whereabouts of the brothers and the children were known, agents in Los Angeles obtained a provisional arrest warrant.''
  
The children were recovered safely and are being held by Dutch family protective services. The children's mothers, accompanied by FBI agents, will travel to the Netherlands to be reunited with their sons, Eimiller said.
  
The Silah brothers are being held in the custody of Dutch police while there are pending state and federal charges awaiting the two here in the United States.
  
``The United States government will seek justice for the victims, orking cooperatively with our international partners,'' Eimiller said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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