Foreign intelligence contributed toward terror suspects' arrest in Brazil
Brazil's Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said Thursday (Jul. 21) that the arrest of ten people suspected of planning terrorist acts for the Rio 2016 Olympics has relied on information obtained in collaboration with foreign intelligence services.
“Several intelligence services from a number of countries helped us in our monitoring efforts by sharing information,” the minister said during an event that marked the beginning of the Federal Highway Police operations in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
He said the Federal Police has a dedicated counterterrorism unit, the Integrated Anti-Terrorism Center (CIANT), which works in collaboration with six countries: Argentina, United States, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Paraguay.
The minister has repeatedly said that the group arrested Thursday (Jul. 21) was amateur, and that most of them had never even met, except for two men who had served a six-year jail sentence together for murder.
“That group was absolutely amateurish, so much so that just days ahead of the Olympics, the alleged leader—because most of the communication came from him—was asking the others to take martial arts and shooting training. [There were] no professionals whether to commit terrorist acts or any other crime,” he said.
Moraes said the amateur nature of the plot does not eliminate “the need for prompt government action. We will promptly respond at any evidence of preparatory action to prevent the advancement of any plans to disrupt the Olympics.”
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Foreign intelligence contributed toward terror suspects' arrest in Brazil
