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Spanish Police Seize 20,000 ISIS And Al-Nusra Front Military Uniforms And Other Gear

Published on: March 4, 2016 at 4:37 AM
By Anne Sewell

Spain’s National Police announced on Thursday the seizure of 20,000 military uniforms and other accessories destined for the ISIS and al-Nusra Front terror groups. Reportedly the uniforms and other military accessories were seized in the ports of Valencia and Algeciras.

According to a statement by Spain’s Interior Ministry, “With nearly 20,000 uniforms and military accessories seized, they would have been able to equip an entire army, which would be perfectly prepared to enter combat in any of the centers of conflict where terrorist jihadist organizations operate in the world.”

As reported by CNN , the National Police discovered the 5,000 kilos (5.5 tons) of illicit goods in three separate shipping containers. Two were found in the port of Valencia and one in Algeciras in southern Spain. All were marked with the designation “second-hand clothing” in order to not raise suspicion during customs inspections, and all were linked to an international network of companies and were destined for militants in the ISIS and al-Nusra terrorist networks.

Reportedly one of the companies involved in the shipping containers is listed as exporting and importing used clothing, according to the Interior Ministry. Reportedly the camouflage military uniforms and other accessories were carefully hidden within bundles of other kinds of clothing.

According to The Local, the containers were seized last month as part of a major operation by the National Police and seven people were arrested for their logistical and financial support of the ISIS and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

As stated by the Interior Ministry in Spain, both terror groups have established a network of suppliers worldwide, which helps ISIS and al-Nusra Front militants to restock military materials, technology, and weapons at “the best prices and quality of goods.”

Reportedly one of the suspects arrested in February was a man who dispatched “military material, money, electronic and transmission material, firearms and precursors for making explosives” to ISIS and al-Nusra Front terrorists in Syria and Iraq via a company, according to a statement from the National Police.

Tweet translation: The National Police detain 7 jihadists who collaborated with Jabhat al-Nusra and DAESH.

That equipment was reportedly shipped in closed containers marked as “humanitarian aid” and the shipment was financed by “hawala,” which is reportedly an informal system of payment based on trust. This kind of payment makes its source far more difficult to trace than a normal bank transfer.

The National Police said last month in a statement that the leader of the network was reportedly in “constant contact” with a member of the ISIS terror group, who repeatedly requested him to recruit women, to be married off to ISIS jihadists in Syria.

The statement from the Interior Ministry said, “This police operation has meant the neutralization of a business scheme, very active and effective in its mission, whose principal end is to supply, preserve and strengthen the military structures of the terrorist organization DAESH [ISIS] with constant provisions and continuous war materials, as well as to establish avenues for funding.”

In other recent news relating to ISIS and al-Nusra Front terrorists and Spain, as reported by Deutsche Welle , a 20-year-old Moroccan man was arrested by the Spanish Civil Guard on February 25 and was said to be involved in carrying out tasks of propaganda and glorification of the DAESH (ISIS) terrorist group.

The man was using social media networks to promote ISIS, posting radical and gruesome videos containing speeches by ISIS leaders, and revealing cruel and harsh treatment of prisoners by ISIS militants . The Moroccan man was reportedly arrested in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast.

[Photo courtesy Spain’s National Police]

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