Spanish National Police arrest alleged DAESH collaborator in Las Palmas

The detainee, who had been under investigation for his connections with online Jihadi sites, had recently become more radicalised, which led to his arrest.

On Friday, the detainee was brought before the Spanish National High Court and was remanded in prison under an order from Central Criminal Investigation Court No. 6.

The police investigation was able to establish that in recent months the detainee had been taking photographs of the island headquarters of the LGTBI association, a group against which he had demonstrated particular revulsion and at which he had directed offensive comments. The LGTBI community had been repeatedly highlighted by DAESH as one of its targets.

The man arrested, who had been particularly active online, taking part in various chat rooms with radical Jihadi content, praised the terrorist attacks carried out on 11-S in the United States and on 11-M in Madrid, along with the attacks carried out in Barcelona and Cambrils (Tarragona) in August 2017.

He also had online chats in which he eulogised the behaviour of other Jihadist converts abroad and encouraged them to commit terrorist activities in their countries.

In fact, the detainee had maintained contact with other Jihadist converts who were arrested in Columbia and Argentina in 2018, thanks to information provided by the General Commissariat of Information of the National Police.

The arrested man claimed to have converted to Islam in 2004 following the 11-M attacks, but boasted of maintaining a Western style, with no outward signs of radicalisation in the way he dressed or in his features to avoid being detected or raise suspicion with the State law enforcement agencies.

In the search carried out at his residence officers found a large quantity of material based on Jihadi terrorism: videos of other Jihadists swearing allegiance, videos containing executions and graphic material featuring weapons, combat gear and other war-related materials.

The investigation was carried out by investigators from the General Commissariat of Information of the National Police, in collaboration with the Provincial Brigade for Information of Las Palmas de Gran Canarias under the supervision of Central Criminal Investigation Court No. 6 and was coordinated by the Public Prosecution Service of the Spanish National High Court.

Non official translation