Swedish authorities say that a couple suspected of planning terrorist offences fooled the country’s Migration Agency with false identities, claiming to be from Afghanistan when they are actually believed to be Iranians.
The revelation came as a result of the Swedish security police establishing their identities.
Hans Ihrman, the deputy chief prosecutor of the National Security Case Unit, explained to broadcaster SVT: “They have different citizenships and completely different identity information than they had stated, and we have had confirmation of the suspicions we had from the beginning.”
“They have managed to go under the radar and in various ways have not wanted it to be known that they have any connection whatsoever with Iran. Now they are suddenly ten years older and have completely different names,” Ihrman added.
The couple, who were arrested over Easter weekend in the Stockholm region, were believed to have been plotting an imminent terror attack when they were taken into custody. They are suspected of having been planning an attack since January.
According to SVT, the couple has been in Sweden since 2017. Mr Ihrman revealed: “Since arriving in Sweden, they have given false identity documents to all Swedish authorities with whom they have been in contact.”
Ihrman added that there is suspicion that the couple may have also acted alongside another party. He also noted that while there have been cases of refugee-linked espionage in the past, that was not a factor in this case.
The arrest of the couple on Easter weekend coincided with another Islamic terror-related arrest in France that saw an 18-year-old young woman taken into custody after the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) raided her family home in Béziers.
The girl is suspected of wanting to attack a church in Montpellier over the Easter holiday. A search of her home revealed a stockpile of chemicals and instructions on how to manufacture explosives.