A total of 153 people have been arrested in Operation Neptune VII – coordinated by Interpol and carried out at border checkpoints in 20 countries, including Portugal, between July and September this year.
Among those arrested in this operation, which covered countries in the Mediterranean and Middle East, was Igor Grechushkin – owner of the cargo ship carrying ammonium nitrate that exploded in the port of Beirut in 2020, killing at least 218 people and injuring more than 6,000.
Interpol confirmed Grechushkin’s arrest at Sofia airport in Bulgaria.
This operation followed a red notice issued through Interpol by Lebanon, where Grechushkin is accused of multiple crimes, including acts of terrorism. Extradition proceedings are now ongoing.
The international police agency, which released the main results of Neptune VII today, said there had been progress compared to last year’s operation of the same name, which resulted in 66 arrests.
Two people (identities not specified) were detained in the Spanish port of Algeciras. One wanted for terrorism and the other for drug trafficking.
In total, during Neptune VII, 328 people were identified as targets of Interpol notifications and alerts, 57 of whom suspected of having links to terrorism.
A large number of stolen blank documents were also seized, believed to have fallen into the hands of terrorist groups operating in the Middle East.
Also seized were 220 kilograms of cannabis, 20 kilograms of silver bars, $130,000 in cash, and several luxury vehicles.
Among countries involved, in addition to Portugal and Spain, were Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia and Tunisia.
Source: LUSA
