National police in Spain have arrested a 25-year-old of Moroccan origin accused of being part of a fraud and counterfeiting operation that provided support to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
Spain’s national police said in a press release on Thursday that the man was detained in the Alicante town of Elda on charges of document falsehood, tax fraud and fraud. The man’s arrest came as part of an European Order of Detention issued by Germany.
Police outlined how the man was identified during investigations into the logistical networks supporting ISIS terror attacks and the group’s recruitment activities.
During 2016 European security services uncovered a plot to carry out attacks on civilians Paris. Like the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed, the aspiring militants planned on using assault rifles in an attack on the French capital.
The plot never came to fruition because of police intervention.
During the investigation into the plans for the attack three individuals in Germany were identified as providing false documents and logistical support to the operational members. The ISIS support nexus that was uncovered stretched from France and Germany to Spain and Morocco,
Two of the three were arrested in Germany while the 25-year-old Moroccan suspect was able to escape. Police traced his movements after he travelled in secret between several different countries before reaching Spain.