Anti-terror police in Germany have arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of being an ISIS terrorist – after he was caught trying to sneak his way into the Euro 2024 football tournament as a security guard.
The suspect, named only as Soufian T, is alleged to have applied to work security on ‘side events’ outside a stadium in Germany, which is hosting the tournament in less than a week’s time.
Authorities assessing his job application found he had been deemed a potential Islamist thread by state security services. It prompted Cologne police to swoop on Soufian, a Germany-Moroccan-Polish citizen, at Cologne-Bonn Airport.
He was arrested alongside his mother and sister; mobile phones and €2,500 in cash were seized. He had booked a one-way ticket to Istanbul last month, fuelling their suspicions he was involved in terrorist plots.
Security officials claim he had also applied for security accreditations at other major German events, namely the 24 Hour Nurburgring motorsport endurance race and Rock am Ring, a music festival also held at the circuit.
German anti-terror police take part in an operational drill in Stuttgart in May ahead of the Euro 2024 tournament kicking off next week
A man named as Soufian T was arrested by German police at Cologne-Bonn Airport (pictured) on suspicion of being involving in ISIS terror plots
The suspect allegedly applied to work as a security guard at the Euro 2024 tournament
Reports suggest the suspect had links to ISIS, the so-called Islamic State group (file picture)
After he was arrested, Soufian’s apartment was searched and data storage devices were seized alongside phones and computers.
Federal investigators from the BKD – Germany’s answer to the FBI – have also seized bank account and online activity records.
Appearing before an investigating judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, his mother is reported to have claimed they were making a pilgrimage to Mecca, and were planning to continue their journey to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
The investigation, first reported by The Sun, is ongoing. MailOnline has contacted the BKD and Cologne police for further comment.
We previously reported how German police have prepared a robust policing plan for the Euros, which kick off on June 14. Up to 12million people are expected to travel to the country – many of whom don’t even have stadium tickets.
Police will be equipped to deal with terror threats, violent hooligans and organised crime – with 22,000 federal officers at borders, stadiums, public viewing areas like fanzones and travel hubs such as airports and railway stations.
Annual leave has been banned for serving officers for the duration of the tournament.
Germany has also invited around 300 security experts to take part in an international monitoring project to gather intelligence on potential threats during the tournament.
The country is introducing enhanced border controls to counter ‘football-related threats…in addition to risks flowing from the global security situation’, the European Commission has said.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said last week the country was prepared for ‘all conceivable dangers’, EuroNews reports.
‘The police will have a strong presence wherever large numbers of people are on the move. This will be a major effort for the state police forces and the federal police, but it is also crucial for the tournament,’ she said.
The suspect reportedly applied to work at the Nurburgring 24 Hour race as well as the Euros (file picture of the race in 2017)
Investigators say he also applied to work at another major German event – the Rock am Ring music festival at the Nurburgring (pictured)
However, Germany is still reeling from a knife attack at an anti-Islam rally that saw a police officer stabbed to death by a man reported to be an Afghan migrant.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this week: ‘What happened in Mannheim — the fatal knife attack on a young policeman — is an expression of the misanthropic ideology of radical Islamism.
‘There is only one term for this: terror. Let’s declare war to terror.’
Last month, police in France arrested an 18-year-old, Rokhman B, on suspicion of conspiring with ISIS to carry out a violent attack at Saint-Etienne’s Geoffrey-Guichard stadium during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Le Parisien reported the teenager was intending to carry out an ‘Islamist-inspired’ attack during the athletics event – plotting to attack spectators outside the stadium.
Euro 2024 kicks off on Friday – and England begins the tournament fresh from a 1-0 loss to Iceland in their final warm-up game. Its first match will be against Serbia on Sunday.
Ex-England defender Jamie Carragher has predicted the Three Lions will come up short in the Euros – and that whoever beats England will go on to lift the trophy.