Ahead of Euro 2016 set to kickoff across France this Friday, European Union intelligence officials have encouraged citizens and law enforcement to be on high alert for terror attacks aimed at the tournament.
In the wake of the tragedies witnessed in Paris several months ago, specifically the one targeting the Stade de France during the national side’s friendly against Germany, it’s been warned that the soccer festivities taking place throughout ten French cities in the coming month were potential targets for terrorists to carry out more dastardly, senseless plots.
It seems that vigilance has paid off, as Ukrainian authorities recently arrested a French national attempting to cross the Ukraine’s border into Poland, and clearly, the weapons he was packing in his van appear to divulge a key role in what is suspected to be imminent attacks occurring in line with the soccer tournament.
Audio of the raid is noticeably absent, but surveillance footage of this dude’s arsenal is downright chilling.
Fuck that guy, right? Officials are still trying to decipher whether he was merely an arms smuggler, or had a greater role at stake in whatever violent plot that was thwarted, however, it doesn’t sound like his intentions were good.
The man, identified by French media as Gregoire Moutaux, 25, was arrested on the Ukrainian border with Poland.
Intelligence chief Vasyl Hrytsak said the man had planned 15 attacks and was driven by ultra-nationalist views.
He had amassed guns, detonators and 125kg of TNT, Mr Hrytsak said.
Mr Hrytsak listed bridges, motorways, a mosque and a synagogue among the suspect’s potential targets. He was being prosecuted for arms smuggling and terrorism, he said. …
His home in north-east France has been searched by police, who – according to media reports – found a T-shirt bearing far-right insignia. The Ukrainians say he was motivated by hatred of immigration and globalisation.
Ukraine’s SBU security service said it had been watching the suspect since December last year and that he had picked up five Kalashnikovs, two anti-tank grenade launchers, some 5,000 rounds of ammunition and 100 detonators, as well as a large quantity of explosives.
An SBU video was shown of the dramatic moment of the suspect’s arrest along with the weapons that intelligence officials said they had found. The arrest was said to have taken place at a border crossing close to the Ukrainian town of Yahodyn.
The footage also revealed a second person being wrestled to the ground on the passenger side of the car.
The SBU chief said the French suspect had been in touch “with military units fighting in Donbass”, a reference to the eastern areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, where pro-Russian rebels have seized large areas of Ukrainian territory.
“The Frenchman spoke negatively of the activities of his government on mass migration of foreigners to France, the spread of Islam and globalisation. He also said he wished to stage a number of terrorist attacks in protest,” Mr Hrytsak said. (via)
To boot, even more explosives were found in his home, as well as balaclavas. So much props to the authorities being steps ahead of this psycho, whatever his motives were, because safe to say no good is exactly what he was up to.
[via BBC]