Three individuals were arrested by Spain’s National Police on 1 February, on charges of financing terrorism in Libya, according to a report by Euro Weekly News.
The detainees were detained in Valencia, Barcelona, and Girona.
The suspects used a complex business network to mask their economic transactions, and provide funds to a terrorist militia in Libya, related to IS. The investigation began two years ago when counter-terrorism specialists discovered a person related to the leadership of a Libyan militia, linked to IS
Officers from the Provincial Information Brigades of San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Valencia collaborated at a national level. As well as working with Europol at an international level.
On Friday, the detainees were placed at the disposal of the Head of the Central Court of Instruction No1 of the National Court. The leader of the network was sentenced to prison
During the operation, three homes were searched in Barcelona, and Sant Adri del Besos, along with a commercial establishment in Badalona. Two high-end vehicles have also been confiscated.
Numerous documentation, effects, and technical documents are being analyzed by investigators. A large sum of cash has been seized, of which €20,000 was located in one of the vehicles.
Libya has been embroiled by lawlessness since the 2011 fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, with an array of armed groups vying for control.
IS took advantage of the chaos to seize parts of the country’s north and west. A string of offensives saw it defeated in 2018.
The group continues to carry out small-scale raids.