In the French city of Béziers, five Russians were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack.
This information is also confirmed by the editor of the international department of the television channel France 24 Douglas Erbert. “Five Russians suspected of preparing the attack were detained in the French city of Beziers,” he wrote on a social network.
All suspects were taken into custody. Now the investigation is ongoing. One of those arrested lived in Beziers and another, probably in Montpellier. Investigators are trying to find the addresses of three other detainees.
The five detainees are of Chechen origin. According to information, prohibited items were seized from them during the search.
The Russian Embassy in Paris says it does not yet have information about the detention of Russians on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act in France.
“At the moment, we do not own the information,” said a representative of the diplomatic mission.
From January 7 to 9, 17 people became victims of terrorist attacks in France. 19 people were injured, five of whom are in serious condition.
The two Charlie Hebdo editorial suspects in the attack, the brothers Sheriff and Said Kuashi, were killed during a police operation. The terrorist who took hostages in a store in the Paris region of Port da Vincennes was shot dead during the assault, but some of the hostages died.
The detainees were preparing a new terrorist attack in France.
According to Europe-1, the detainees are Russian citizens and people from Chechnya. They were detained on the evening of Monday, January 19, in the city of Beziers, a department of Eros, in the south of France. The prosecution made a statement only on Tuesday.
Now, it is reported that the Russians are in custody.
According to France 3, four detainees are Russian citizens, and the fifth is an Austrian citizen.
The French newspaper Midi Libre clarifies that one of the suspects was detained in the city of Beziers, four more – in the Montpellier region. In Beziers, not far from Sokliere Stadium, a cache of explosives was also discovered.
Bezier’s prosecutor Yvonne Calve said that one of the detainees lives in Beziers, and the second, probably, in Montpellier, Est Republican newspaper reports.
The addresses of three more detainees are now being verified. The investigation was entrusted to the Montpellier Regional Judicial Police Service.
According to Midi Libre, one of the suspects was watched by law enforcement for some time. He was allegedly involved in the Montpellier bombing on November 12, 2008.
Then the explosion occurred in one of the rooms of the hostel of students of the University of Triole. Six people were injured in the explosion, two of them were seriously injured.
The explosion occurred during the celebration of the birthday of a student from Russia. The company had two Russians, one of whom was a native of Chechnya, a Moldavian, an Armenian and two Ukrainians.
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