MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Federal Police arrests two in Tucumán for planning attack against Jewish community

Messages mentioning “an imminent attack that would take place in Tucumán during Shabbat” were detected.

Two people were arrested Friday in the Argentine province of Tucumán when they were reportedly planning to commit an undetermined attack against the local Jewish community, hours before the beginning of the Shabbat day of rest, the local La Gaceta newspaper reported.

Firearms, Nazi literature and objects that identified the suspects with hate groups were found in the possession of those now held in custody of federal authorities.

Federal Prosecutor Pablo Camuña also detailed the two suspects had been captured in properties located in the province's capital San Miguel de Tucumán and in a village named El Manantial.

Investigators were acting upon a filing last year by the Argentine Delegation of Israelite Associations (DAIA) in the City of Buenos Aires, was sent over to Tucumán. “After the investigation, it was confirmed that the suspects used the messaging services Whatsapp and Telegram to plan acts of aggression and intimidation against people and institutions of the Jewish community of Tucumán,” said the prosecution in a statement.

This week, messages mentioning “an imminent attack that would take place in Tucumán during Shabbat” were detected, which led to Friday's arrests by the Federal Police's Department of Antiterrorist Investigation Unit and Prosecutor Camuña.

About a dozen short and long firearms were seized together with blades of all sizes and designs -some of which had already been identified in photographs on social media, radio communication elements, Nazi literature and objects with hate group identifications.

In addition, digital devices such as cell phones, computers and memory cards were collected at the scenes and sent to forensic labs for further examining, which would allow the investigation to continue.