Three people suspected of being part of a terrorist cell, one of them a Syrian national, were detained on Tuesday (2) in different parts of the city of Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, as part of a police investigation that presumes that the group's objective was “planning a possible terrorist action in the capital of Argentina”, official sources reported this Wednesday.
“Detectives from the Anti-Terrorism Investigation Unit of the Federal Superintendency of Investigations detained three older men, one of them of Syrian nationality, who could belong to a terrorist cell,” said the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) in a statement released today.
One of the individuals had tried to enter Argentina on a plane from Colombia and was arrested when he arrived at Jorge Newbery Airport, in Buenos Aires.
In addition, two other individuals were arrested in the center of Buenos Aires and in the city of Avellaneda, allegedly related to an international shipment “of a suspicious package weighing 35 kilos, coming from Yemen”, which would be received at one of the homes of those being investigated.
The police also have evidence of the entry into Argentina of three other citizens of Syrian and Lebanese origin, who, after arriving on separate commercial flights, would meet in Buenos Aires to “plan a possible terrorist action”.
The arrests were the result of an investigation carried out by PFA detectives, together with agents from the National Criminal Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Security and the Airport Security Police, under the orders of the National Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 1, headed by judge María Servini.
The presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, highlighted “the collaborative effort” between the different police and investigative bodies that resulted in the arrest of “three individuals suspected of planning terrorist actions”.
“We would especially like to congratulate the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, and all the security forces involved, who carried out highly professional intelligence work; of course, working together with the judiciary and responding to an express request from the nation’s president,” she declared.
At the moment, security forces remain on alert for the possible arrival of other suspected terrorists. The judicial investigation continues with the analysis of the contents of the cell phones seized from the detainees.
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