A dozen Brazilian citizens accused of pledging allegiance to Isis and allegedly part of group called defenders of sharia were ‘absolutely amateur’, officials say

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Fifteen days before the Olympics opening ceremony, Brazilian police have arrested 10 alleged Islamic State sympathisers who are suspected of planning an act of terrorism during the games. Two others are still at large.

The Brazilian justice minister, Alexandre Moraes, described the suspects – all of whom are Brazilian – as “absolutely amateur and unprepared”, but he said they had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, celebrated the recent attacks in Orlando and Nice, and some of them had tried to buy AK-47s.

He provided few details of those involved but said they were spread across 10 states, had a leader in Curitiba, and kept in touch by the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging services.

“Those involved participated in an online group denominated ‘the defenders of sharia’ and were planning to acquire weapons to commit crimes in Brazil and even overseas,” the minister told a news conference.

Brazil’s intelligence agency ABIN is said to have worked with foreign counterparts to provide the information that led to the arrests, which were carried out by members of the police and armed forces mostly in the southern states of São Paulo and Parana.

The suspects did not have bomb materials, nor did they identify a target and some merely discussed taking up martial arts, but one of them had reportedly been in contact with a website offering clandestine guns from Paraguay.

“He requested the purchase of an AK-47 gun, to perform an operation,” Moraes said. “There is no information in the investigation that he managed to get this rifle, but the simple act of communication with an intent to buy a rifle is a preparatory act that we had to combat.”

Authorities believe they were preparing a shooting attack similar to the one in Orlando, Florida.

The minister suggested the arrests were precautionary.

“Due to the proximity of the Olympics – when we will receive many foreigners – Brazil from that point on would start to become part of the target of these people,” he said. The suspects will be held for 60 days.



The operation comes after reports that the militant group Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil, which supports the Islamic State, launched a Portuguese-language call for jihad or holy war on the Telegram social network.



The government said last week that the threat of terrorism had “reached a higher level” following the killings in Nice, France. In Rio de Janeiro, authorities said they were planning additional security cordons, road checkpoints and body searches at Olympic venues.

Following Thursday’s arrests, the interim president, Michel Temer, was due to hold an emergency cabinet meeting.