A man who had planned a series of terrorist attacks during the Euro 2016 tournament has been thwarted by police, with Ukrainian officials stating that he had obtained 125kg of TNT, detonators and guns in preparation of 15 attacks during the football competition.
The man, identified as 25-year-old French citizen Gregoire Moutaux by the media, reportedly harboured ultra-nationalistic views that had led to him plotting the potentially deadly attacks. Though Moutaux was reportedly not looking to attack the Euro 2016 torunament’s stadiums, he had planned for them to coincide with the tournament, with him having compiled a list of targets including a mosque, a synagogue and motorways in in France.
Also See: England Euro 2016 Squad Stats: What You Need to Know About Roy Hodgson’s Team
The French media had previously reported that the arrest had taken place on May 21, though the extent of the man’s plans have only just been revealed, along with photographic evidence of him being detained and the sizable amount of weapons and explosives he had been carrying. It is believed that he has no previous criminal record and no ties to any existing terrorist organisations.
Ukraine’s state security service (SBU) released a statement regarding the arrest (via The Guardian), which reads: “The Frenchman spoke negatively about his government’s migration policies, the spread of Islam and globalisation. He also said he wanted to perpetrate acts of terror in protest.”
They continued: “The SBU has succeeded in stopping 15 terrorist attacks that were planned in France just before and during the European football championship.” The SBU stated that the service had been following the man since December, with him having contacted illegal arms groups in Ukraine in order to get his hands on the weaponry.
The threat of a terrorist attack taking place during the Euro 2016 competition has led to a severe increase in security, with over 90,000 police and soldiers scheduled to oversee the entire event from Friday, June 10. Though there is a notable amount of unease headed into the tournament given the tragic Paris terrorist attacks that took place back in November 2015, visitors have been asked to remain vigilant and it is hoped that the tournament will be a safe and celebratory occasion for France.
