“The investigation revealed that a network of people had prepared a terrorist act,” said Chief Inspector Flemming Drejer of the Danish security and intelligence service PET.
“The arrests and raids we are carrying out today are based on a thorough investigation carried out by PET in close cooperation with our foreign partners,” he said.
According to Dreyer, the network has links to organized crime both in Denmark and abroad, including a gang called Loyal To Familia, or LTF. The gang was responsible for gangs, violence, robberies, extortion and drug dealing in the Danish capital and “used violence and illegal means to achieve their goals”, the Copenhagen District Court said.
In September 2018, Danish police imposed a temporary ban on LTF.
The security level remains high
Police said they would increase their presence in the coming days, particularly in Copenhagen and around Jewish communities.
“This is an extremely serious situation,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told the Ritzau news agency. “With regards to Israel and Gaza, it is obviously completely unacceptable that someone would bring a conflict from another part of the world into Danish society,” he added.
“For several years now we have seen that there are people living in Denmark who do not love us. Who is against our freedom and who is against Danish society with everything that goes with it,” Frederiksen said.
Denmark maintained its level of preparedness with respect to terrorism at 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, reflecting a “significant” threat. The Netherlands also raised its alert level to 4 this week, citing the Israel-Hamas conflict.
European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned earlier this month that Europe faces a “high risk of terrorist attacks” over the Christmas period due to the fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas.
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2023-12-14 18:40:28
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