Police Press Conference: Planned Terrorist Attack Suspects Still In Custody, Investigations Ongoing

At a press conference held just moments ago, Grímur Grímsson, the chief of the capital area police; and Sveinn Ingiberg Magnússon, chief of police for the District Prosecutors office, revealed a little more information on their ongoing investigation of two men, currently in police custody, who were suspected of planning a terrorist attack.

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As reported, the men had reportedly been manufacturing firearms using 3D printing technology. In raids in both Kopavogur and Mosfellsbær last week, police seized dozens of firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Police said at a press conference the day after that they had been investigating these men for weeks, and that the suspects were planning to attack police at their annual celebrations, and the Parliamentary building. They added that they are still investigating whether these men have ties to extremist groups abroad.

Sources close to Stundin and Morgunblaðið both indicated that such a connection was there, but a lawyer for one of the men said he knows of no such link.

At today’s press conference, Sveinn said that the national police requested that the district prosecutors take over the case because of a connection between a family member of someone in the national police and a person connected with the case. This request was accepted. Sveinn added that they have been in continuous contact with Europol regarding the documentation that they found on computers and phones.

Grímur said that the investigation has been, and continues to be, intensive, involving some 50 law enforcement officers and the search of numerous locations. This revealed dozens of weapons, some of them fashioned to be automatic weapons and some of them loaded with ammunition. Most of these weapons were not 3D printed and were legally registered. He added that the police still consider the threat of a terrorist attack in Iceland to be low.

Answering questions from reporters, Grímur said that this case has not prompted police to get into any special discussions with the Minister of Justice about arming police further, or expanding investigative powers. Sveinn would not confirm nor deny whether the suspects had any connections to far-right extremists, nor would they say how far along their preparations for an attack had gotten, but said that these aspects were still being investigated.

As it stands now, both men are still in police custody. Both Grímur and Sveinn confirmed they were in solitary confinement for the time being.