TerrorismBrazil's police arrest 10 ISIS sympathizers suspected of Olympics terror plot
With two weeks to go to the opening of the Olympic Games in Brazil, the Brazilian police have arrested ten alleged ISIS sympathizers in the states of São Paulo and Parana on suspicion of planning acts of terrorism during the games. Two other suspects are still at large. Brazil’s intelligence agency ABIN has worked with foreign intelligence services to provide the information that led to the arrests.
Brazil police have first success in securing the games // Source: commons.wikimedia.org
With two weeks to go to the opening of the Olympic Games in Brazil, the Brazilian police have arrested ten alleged ISIS sympathizers in the states of São Paulo and Parana on suspicion of planning acts of terrorism during the games. Two other suspects are still at large. Alexandre Moraes, the Brazilian justice minister, described the suspects, all Brazilian citizens, as “absolutely amateur and unprepared.” He said, though, that all had sworn allegiance to ISIS, openly celebrated the recent terrorist attacks in Olando and Nice, and had tried to buy AK-47s.
He provided few details of those involved but said they were from different states, had a leader in Curitiba, and kept in touch by the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging services.
“Those involved participated in an online group denominated ‘the defenders of sharia’ and were planning to acquire weapons to commit crimes in Brazil and even overseas,” Moraes said in a news conference.
The Independence reports that Brazil’s intelligence agency ABIN has worked with foreign intelligence services to provide the information that led to the arrests.
The suspects did not have bomb materials, and they appear not to have identified targets. One of those arrested however, had reportedly been in contact with a Web site offering clandestine guns from Paraguay.
“He requested the purchase of an AK-47 gun, to perform an operation,” Moraes said. “There is no information in the investigation that he managed to get this rifle, but the simple act of communication with an intent to buy a rifle is a preparatory act that we had to combat.”
The Brazilian authorities believe the suspects were preparing a shooting attack similar to the one in Orlando.
The justice minister told reporters that “Due to the proximity of the Olympics — when we will receive many foreigners — Brazil from that point on would start to become part of the target of these people,” he said.
The law allows terrorism suspects to be held for sixty days without charges.
There were other worrying signs. The Islamist militant group Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil, which supports ISIS, launched a Portuguese-language call for jihad or holy war on the Telegram social network.
In the major Olympic venues, the police were planning additional security cordons, road checkpoints, and body searches.
