Syrian thought to have links to ISIS
The counterterrorism unit of the Greek Police (ELAS) and the National Intelligence Service (EYP) are investigating the arrest earlier this week of four migrants – a 19-year-old Syrian, a 23-year-old Moroccan, a 26-year-old Afghan and a 32-year-old Algerian – with possible links to the so-called Islamic State, Kathimerini understands.
Three of the suspects were arrested during a police raid on the basement apartment the four shared in the run-down Athens neighborhood of Aghios Panteleimonas last Tuesday, while the fourth was found at a second apartment in the nearby neighborhood of Kypseli.
Authorities suspect that the Aghios Panteleimonas apartment was being used as a workshop for the production of fake travel documents. During the raid, officers confiscated numerous memory sticks and cell phones along with hundreds of forged travel documents.
EYP officers are particularly interested in the 19-year-old Syrian man, a recent arrival on an island in the eastern Aegean, according to sources, where he was issued with a temporary residence permit.
Investigators believe the 19-year-old may have links to members of ISIS, sources indicated, noting that officers have found suspicious material on his cell phone.
All the suspects are believed to be involved in human smuggling. The Algerian national initially claimed to be a Syrian refugee but a police search revealed that he is Algerian, has been living for years in Greece and has been previously detained for robberies and other offenses.
