Discovery in France of strategically important ETA (terrorist group) stash leads to largest arms seizure in ten years

The stash, which could be considered highly strategic in nature and overwhelmingly important, contained:

• 75 automatic pistols
• 70 revolvers
• 2 hunting rifles
• 130 pistol magazines
• Ammunition cartridges

Other pistol and revolver parts were also seized.

Third major blow to the "techno-logistical" structure of the terrorist group

This investigation has dealt another heavy blow to the logistics arm of the terrorist group ETA in France. Operation "Descubrimiento" has led to the latest heavy blow to the terrorist group's strategic equipment stashes in France with the seizure of arms stolen during a robbery carried out by the terrorist group in Vauvert in 2006, over 800 kilometres from where they were recovered.

Since then, finding the stashes containing the weapons taken during that robbery has been a priority for the Spanish Guardia Civil and French DGSI, and this operation has led to the largest arms seizure in ten years.

On 20 July 2014, a communiqué from the terrorist group was published in which it announced that it was carrying out an internal restructuring process which provided for the decommissioning of its "logistics-military" framework, the creation of a "techno-logistical" structure, responsible for sealing its arms caches, and strengthening its "political system", without this leading to the abolishment of its structures necessary for internal operations.

With this operation, the DGSI and Guardia Civil have now managed to deal three heavy blows to this "techno-logistical" structure since it was set up, leaving it in tatters and far less capable of exerting an influence.

The first heavy blow was achieved on 28 May 2015 following the seizure from a house in the centre of the French town of Biarritz of a total of 26 hand guns - many of them stolen during the robbery carried out by the terrorist group in late October 2006 from a company in the French town of Vauvert (south-east France), a large amount of ammunition, explosive material, substances for manufacturing explosive material and French number plates. Operation "Brique" led to the arrest of two alleged "legal" collaborators of the terrorist group ETA responsible for the concealment and safekeeping of the material.

The second major blow to the "techno-logistical" structure took place on 7 July 2015. As part of Operation "Tonel", two high-ranking members of this structure were located and arrested:

• Xabier Goyenechea Iragorri, allegedly involved in the theft of six top-of-the-range cars by numerous members of the terrorist group ETA in March 2010 from the "Auto Contac" dealership in Dammarie Les-Lyes (60 kilometres from Paris), which ended in the killing of French police officer Jean-Serge Nérin - the first member of the French police force to be killed by the terrorist group.
• Joseba Iñaki Reta de Frutos, whose fingerprints were found among the large volume of ETA material seized by the Guardia Civil in January 2010 in Bermillo de Sayago (Zamora).

This joint operation by the Spanish Guardia Civil and the French DGSI represents the third major blow to the "techno-logistical" arm of the terrorist group in the little more than two years of its existence. It is particularly noteworthy because such a large number of weapons stolen during the robbery carried out by the terrorist group in 2006 in the French town of Vauvert have now been recovered.

An extremely large portion of its arsenal, lost

Operation "Descubrimiento" constitutes a heavy blow to the structures of the terrorist group because it has led to the loss of an extremely large portion of its arsenal of weapons. In this regard, the outstanding action by the Permanent Intelligence Squads of the French DGSI and Spanish Guardia Civil, carried out within the framework of international police cooperation, will make managing the material that the terrorist group still has extremely difficult.

The operation forms part of the investigations being conducted by the Spanish Guardia Civil and French DGSI into the clandestine structures that the terrorist group ETA maintains in France, representing another major step towards their definitive dismantling and highlighting the firm commitment from both institutions to seeing things through until the final extinction of this terrorist group.

This police operation constitutes another step towards the inevitable end of the terrorist group, is a fine example of the meticulous and ongoing work carried out by the Spanish Guardia Civil and French DGSI, and is further evidence of the de facto defeat of the terrorist group by the rule of law.