Spanish police seize Russia-bound chemicals, including possible weapons material
Police in Spain have seized 13 tons of banned chemicals, including “possible” chemical weapons precursors, that were bound for Russia.
Police in Spain have seized 13 tons of banned chemicals, including “possible” chemical weapons precursors, that were bound for Russia despite the sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, they said on Tuesday.
The police said they had arrested four suspected members of a crime ring they believe was attempting to circumvent Western sanctions by illegally supplying chemical products to Russia via a shell company managed by “citizens of Russian origin”.
“During the investigation, it was proven that internationally sanctioned chemicals, some of them possible precursors for chemical weapons or nerve agents, had been exported in the past using this company structure,” national police and the tax authority said in a joint statement.
The statement did not say which chemicals were seized in the latest operation.
The chemicals were found inside a container at Barcelona’s port, while the four suspects were arrested in the nearby villages of Sant Feliu de Guixols, Cerdanyola del Valles and Santa Perpetua de Mogoda. They face charges of sustained smuggling of banned goods.
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