The investigation began in March last year. National Criminal Intelligence Directorate The Department of National Security-dependent agency (DNIC) plans to file complaints about: Gangs active in Argentina A person suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. A year and a half later, the investigation did not confirm the initial hypothesis about the link with terrorist activities, but revealed an organization specializing in terrorist activities. “Smuggling of illegal immigrants”.
This was reported by nation Qualified judicial sources. In the last hours, court officials, by order of Federal Judge Santiago Inciusti of Mar del Plata, naval prefecture Four suspects were arrested and nine firearms were seized.
In the investigation, on behalf of the Ministry of Civil Service, Federal Prosecutor Santiago Eichelavideresponsible for the transition region of the Mar del Plata Financial Unit. Federal Prosecutor Alejandra Mangano Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bureau (Protex), and Federal Prosecutor Santiago Markevich; Organized Crime Special Investigation Department (Ufeco)
The detainees are a 52-year-old Syrian-born woman and a 33-year-old Tunisian national. Another Moroccan (49 years old) and an Argentinian (60 years old).
“This was a criminal organization composed of Argentine nationals from Arab countries, which would have developed various schemes aimed at facilitating the entry, stay and settlement of foreigners,” he explained. nation A judicial detective who participates in the investigation.
The suspects were detained during seven raids ordered by Judge Inciusti in Mar del Plata, Santa Clara del Mar and the city of Buenos Aires.
According to the attorney general’s office news site, www.fiscales.gob.ar DNIC’s complaint referred to an Egyptian national who arrived in Egypt in 2022 and applied for refugee status at the time.
“According to original information, this man may be related to a former operative of the al-Qaeda organization who was wanted by the Egyptian authorities for interference in terrorist activities,” said the aforementioned Foreign Ministry information site.
After some time, the Egyptian national appeared at the Mar del Plata delegation of the National Directorate of Immigration and applied for citizenship. To support his request, he submitted documents proving his marriage to an Argentine woman living in “La Feliz”.
“We believe that the wife, an Egyptian citizen, received the bridewealth. The couple did not know each other when they signed the marriage certificate at the civil registry office,” he said. nation Judicial sources.
It was soon discovered that the Egyptian national was working for a Moroccan national who was ultimately charged in the case.
“The investigative tetralogy entrusted to the Naval Prefectural Investigation Center included field work, analysis of databases, immigration documents, administrative files, telephone interventions (partly in Arabic), which made it possible to identify the main people involved and their associates. In this context, this organization turned out to be a criminal organization made up of people from Arab countries, namely nationalized Argentinians. , they would have intervened in various operations aimed at facilitating entry, permanent residence, and settlement.” Among these operations were actions aimed at evading immigration control and remaining in the country if detected, including imitating marriages with Argentine nationals to initiate residency procedures and ultimately access citizenship, in exchange for large financial payments. “public.
During the investigation, it was confirmed that this criminal organization was in contact with people residing in countries such as Turkiye and Egypt.
“It is believed that those interested in traveling to Argentina to later complete their citizenship formalities paid between $40,000 and $50,000.”One of the sources said:
In some cases, Argentina was not the intended final destination of those who contacted criminal organizations, according to wiretaps included in the files.
“Some of the people intended to travel to the United States or Europe after acquiring Argentine nationality. In addition, the investigation revealed that the refuge was used not as an international protection mechanism, but as a means of obtaining precarious housing and proceeding through immigration procedures with the aim of evading administrative control. All these acts would have been carried out in exchange for financial compensation,” the judicial detective explained.
In the raid, governors seized cellphones, computers, and other electronic devices (pen drive and memory cards), documents corresponding to third parties (including immigration documents in Arabic), agendas containing Spanish words and their translations into different languages, and marriage certificates.
According to sources with access to the files, the Navy Department also 37 Blade Weapon and nine firearms Ruger 9mm caliber carbine in different calibers, two CZ 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistols, Luger pistols in the same caliber, Sabatti ST-18 .308 caliber repeater rifle, CZ .22 caliber carbine, Ballester Molina .22 caliber pistol, .32 caliber, etc. An undocumented long revolver and a .22 caliber Walther MP5 submachine gun, this latest weapon is a version made for conditional civilian sale under license from Germany’s Heckler & Koch, with a 25-round magazine, whose 7.62 caliber model is used by major tactical police forces.
In the next few hours, the four detained suspects will be questioned by Judge Inciusti.
“Although we were unable to prove the original hypothesis in the indictment (alleged ties to al-Qaeda), as a result of our investigation we were able to uncover a multinational organization that specializes in human trafficking,” concluded a person involved in the case.
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