Wanted terrorist arrested in Axarquía town on international warrant

National Police officers in Spain arrested a 33-year-old fugitive from Turkmenistan on Tuesday, 21 March, in Vélez-Málaga.

In a statement, issued on Friday (24 March), police said that the arrested man was wanted by the authorities of his country for leading an extremist organisation that recruited and sought funding for its illegal activities.

An International Arrest Warrant for his capture was issued on 12 May 2021. Police said the arrested man was temporarily residing in the Axarquia town.

He was wanted for leading the extremist organisation in 2010 which had sought funding to carry out serious extremist actions and to change the constitutional system of the central Asian country, according to documentation from the National Central Bureau of Interpol.

The detainee had made calls through the media for citizens to seize power by force, to commit extremist actions and to overthrow the constitutional order, the police statement concluded.