- Spanish authorities confiscated 20,000 military uniforms and accessories bound for ISIS and Al-Nusra Front militants
- The police said the haul is enough to equip an entire army
- The items, declared as second-hand clothes, were discovered in three shipping containers
Spanish authorities seized 20,000 military uniforms and other accessories bound for the jihadists operating in Iraq and Syria.
The Spanish Police said the haul, enough to equip an entire army, was found in three shipping containers in the eastern ports of Valencia and Alicante last month. The items were declared as second-hand clothes to avoid suspicions.
The Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement the uniforms were discovered when the police conducted a series of raid in the ports after learning of an operation to smuggle arms to jihadists in Middle East under the guise of humanitarian aid.
“The containers which carried the military uniforms were declared as secondhand clothes so as not to raise suspicions and be able to pass different customs inspections without any difficulty. The containers were being shipped to areas controlled by the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front in Iraq and Syria,” the Interior Ministry said.
It added: “With the roughly 20,000 military uniforms and accessories, it would have been possible to equip an entire army, which would be ready to enter into combat in any of the battlegrounds which jihadist terrorist organizations have round the world.”
The seized items were packed in big bundles that were cleverly hidden among used clothes.
With the arrest of seven suspects, the Interior Ministry said law enforcement officials “neutralized a very active and efficient” network of jihadist financiers and suppliers, whose aim was to strengthen militants in Syria and Iraq.
One of the companies run by the suspects was dedicated to exporting used clothes, while one of the men arrested is suspected of sending “electronic and transmission material, firearms and precursors for making explosives” to Syria and Iraq, Damien Sharkov wrote in his article for Newsweek published on March 4, 2016.
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