Sudan dismantles criminal cell manufacturing explosive devices
February 11, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese police on Tuesday arrested a criminal network manufacturing explosive devices in the Eastern Nile district of Khartoum state, amid reports that the detainees are members of a terrorist cell that was planning to carry out terrorist attacks.
The Police Press Office in a statement issued in the evening said that the Eastern Nile police had made a “great achievement and arrested a criminal network, including foreigners, manufacturing explosive devices.”
“The operation carried out by the State Investigation Police led to the arrest of one of the suspects and the seizure of large quantities of raw chemicals and tools used in the initial operations of making explosives,” the statement quoted police chief General Lieutenant Adel Bashayer as saying.
The statement further said that the seized material and devices have been examined by the General Department of Criminal Evidence, while the investigation will be carried out by specialized teams to reveal the dimensions of the activity, which he described as “criminal”.
In the past, the Eastern Nile police had arrested two terrorist groups in the Salmah area in 2007 and Almamoura area in 2017.
The two networks had been arrested for manufacturing explosive devices, explosive belts and chemical preparations using highly flammable materials.
Al-Hadi Mohamed al-Amin, a Sudanese expert on Islamic groups suggested that the seized network would be a “terrorist cell” similar to the previous groups.
“The police confirmation of the presence of foreigners among the accused reinforces the hypothesis of the terrorist cell,” al-Amin told Sudan Tribune pointing that the “East Nile area is one of the known places to host the activities of these groups”.
“The current situation in the country represents a fertile environment and opens the appetite of extremist groups to implement their plans, especially in light of the fragile security situation and economic constraints,” he added.
(ST)