Officers from the Guardia Civil and the French police force discovered firearms and explosives in the home, in Biarritz (France), of the woman of French nationality who was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for her alleged collaboration with the terrorist group ETA. This joint operation between Spain and France, in which a second person was arrested, forms part of the investigations being carried out against the "techno-logistical" structure initiated by the terrorist group in 2014.
The operation, code-named "Brique", comes as the result of close collaboration between the Guardia Civil and the General Directorate for Internal Security in France, (French acronym: D.G.S.I.). This particular case came about following the discovery of a dwelling in Southern France that had been used by the terrorist group ETA, which was searched in the early hours of Thursday morning by officers of the French National Police.
At present, two French citizens are in custody for their alleged collaboration with ETA. The first with the initials N.C. is the owner of the property located in the tourist town of Biarritz, in which materials belonging to the terrorist group were hidden, together with her partner with the initials T.V.
On 20 July 2014, ETA announced in a communiqué that it was carrying out an internal restructuring which provided for the decommissioning of its "logistics-military" framework, the creation of a "techno-logistical" structure, responsible for sealing its arms caches, and strengthening its "political system", without this leading to the abolishment of its structures necessary for internal operations.
In the dwelling searched on Thursday, which was to form part of this "techno-logistical" structure, an arsenal composed of firearms and explosives was found, although as yet the quantities have not been revealed. Material typically used by ETA to make false number plates was also discovered.
At present, the property is still being searched by several experts including a team specialised in bomb-disposal activities.
This operation being carried out by the Guardia Civil and the French services will come as a severe blow to this "techno-logistical" structure, and as such to ETA's capacity to access operational materials.
Pool Moncloa