Syrian authorities have arrested a man and his wife in connection with the theft of more than $232,000 in foreign currency and gold jewellery from the Damascus home of celebrated actress Mona Wassef. The interior ministry announced the arrests on Tuesday, releasing a video showing the suspects’ confessions.

The theft was discovered when Wassef returned to Damascus from a filming trip in Lebanon just before the Eid al-Adha holiday, finding her home ransacked. According to ministry statements, the couple gained entry using a duplicate key—the man later told investigators he found it hidden in a flowerpot—and attempted to erase all traces of their presence by wiping surfaces with cleaning fluids and oil.

Forensic teams, however, recovered cigarette butts left at the scene, which provided a direct DNA link to the male suspect. Under interrogation, he admitted to breaking into the safe and spending part of the proceeds on three properties in rural Damascus and a Land Rover vehicle. His wife confessed to assisting in the cover-up. The ministry said some of the stolen money and items have been recovered.

A minor discrepancy emerged in the timeline: while the interior ministry’s video and most regional reports place the discovery in late June, one Arabic-language outlet cited March as the month of the incident. The ministry has not clarified the exact date of the burglary. Legal proceedings are under way, and the suspects are expected to be referred to the judiciary.