German authorities have detained a man on a train travelling from Denmark to Germany on suspicion of being involved in supplying weapons to the Palestinian Islamist group “Hamas“, DPA reports, citing the federal prosecutor's office, BTA reports.
The case is linked to the arrest of several other alleged “Hamas“ members in recent weeks. The detainee will appear in court in Karlsruhe tomorrow on charges related to arms trafficking. According to investigators, he transported weapons from an alleged “Hamas“ member in the central German state of Hesse to another extremist in Berlin.
Two days ago, police in Berlin detained a man suspected of providing weapons to the Palestinian group after he entered Germany from the Czech Republic. He has been charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
Last month, German prosecutors ordered the arrest of three alleged members of “Hamas“ in Berlin. Two of them are naturalized German citizens born in Lebanon and Syria, accused of supplying weapons and ammunition. According to investigators, the criminal activity began this summer, and the aim was to use the weapons in deadly attacks against Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany. There is no evidence of a specific attack plan.
In early November, a weapons cache linked to the three suspects was discovered in Vienna. Austrian domestic intelligence reported that five pistols and ten magazines were found.
Last week, another man, a British citizen, was arrested in London on suspicion of transporting weapons to Vienna. He is expected to be extradited to Germany.