Sixth suspect charged in connection with foiled terror plot

A sixth person has been charged and placed in detention under suspicion of being part of a terror plot in the Paris region that was foiled by the authorities in November.

French soldiers patrol near Strasbourg's cathedral. Five suspects were arrested in Strasbourg and Marseille in November on suspicion of planning terror attack in the Paris region. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

According to a source close to the investigation, a 31-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday “for association with terrorists and criminals” and for “acquiring, storing, transporting and supplying weapons” in connection with a terrorist network.

The source added the arrested person is suspected “of having supplied weapons” to a cell that was planning an attack in the Paris region on December 1.

The source further said the DNA of the sixth suspect was found on one of the arms recovered from the raid in Strasbourg.

In November, police arrested five men and seized weapons in raids in Strasbourg and Marseille. Out of the five, four were French while one was Moroccan.

Public prosecutor Francois Molins said items seized in Strasbourg included written documents showing clear allegiance to the Islamic State armed group.

“The Strasbourg commando unit, but also the individual arrested in Marseille, were in possession of common instructions... sent by a coordinator from the Iraqi-Syrian region via encrypted applications,” he said. Four weapons were recovered.

Investigators established that the cell was planning an attack on December 1 on one of a number of possible targets.

Investigators found out that the cell’s members researched a dozen sites online including the Christmas market on the Champs-Elysees, the Disneyland Paris theme park, cafes in the northeast of the capital, the Paris police headquarters and a metro station.

Authorities in Portugal had been aware of the Moroccan, aged 46, who was arrested in Marseille, because of his possible radicalisation while living in the country.

The four other suspects, aged between 35 and 37, were previously unknown to French intelligence services, although two of them are suspected of having travelled to Syria in 2015.

- with AFP