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The Venezuelan crew of a cargo aircraft grounded exterior Buenos Aires since final week could not go away Argentina, a decide dominated Tuesday after their lodge was raided in a probe into doable Iran terror hyperlinks.
Police searched the 14 Venezuelan and 5 Iranian crew members’ rooms the day after officers raised suspicions of a hyperlink to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which is listed as a terror group by america.
The Iranian crew had already had their passports briefly seized, and on Tuesday the Venezuelans had their freedom curtailed after police seized cellphones, computer systems and paperwork within the seven-hour lodge raid.
A Venezuelan Boeing 747 cargo aircraft reportedly carrying automotive components got here in from Mexico to land in Cordoba, Argentina on Monday final week, then tried to journey to neighboring Uruguay, however was denied entry and returned to Ezeiza exterior Buenos Aires the place it has been grounded since final Wednesday.
The aircraft belongs to Emtrasur, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s Conviasa, which is below US sanctions.
Police didn’t touch upon the explanation for the lodge search, however on Monday, Safety Minister Anibal Fernandez stated info had been obtained from “international organizations” that some among the many crew could also be linked to firms with ties to the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological military.
Fernandez stated a smaller crew had been reported on the flight log than the quantity truly on the aircraft.
– ‘Terrorists’ –
Additionally Tuesday, Paraguay stated two officers who had licensed the touchdown of the aircraft there in Could had been dismissed and two anti-drug brokers had been below investigation.
Inside Minister Federico Gonzalez stated the aircraft landed in Paraguay on a “industrial” entry allow with 18 crew — a quantity that raised suspicion.
It spent practically three days on the Guarani worldwide airport close to the borders with Argentina and Brazil earlier than departing on Could 16 for the Caribbean island of Aruba with a load of Paraguayan cigarettes.
After it left, “we obtained a communication that the plane is sanctioned by america Treasury Division and that seven of the crew members are members of the Al Quds forces (of the Guards) and that america has them on an inventory of terrorists,” stated the minister.
Paraguay alerted the intelligence companies of different international locations within the area.
Iran stated Monday that Argentina’s transfer was a part of a “propaganda” marketing campaign towards Tehran amid tensions with Western international locations over negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.
The grounding of the cargo aircraft got here days earlier than Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited Tehran on Saturday for the allies, each topic to US sanctions, to signal a 20-year cooperation pact.
Iran’s international ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated the aircraft was bought by Iran’s Mahan Air to a Venezuelan firm final 12 months.
Mahan Air is accused by america of hyperlinks with the Revolutionary Guards.
Interpol has arrest warrants out for former Iranian leaders suspected of involvement in an assault on a Jewish middle in Buenos Aires in 1994 that killed 85 folks and injured lots of.
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