Spanish police arrest three Hezbollah members in Barcelona

Spanish Civil Guard announces the arrest of three people during a police operation in central Barcelona, the investigation was to do alleged links between Lebanese citizens residing in Spain and Hezbollah.

This case follows a similar operation conducted by Spanish authorities in 2024 and was reported Tuesday by public radio Catalunya Ràdio, before being picked up by several media outlets in Europe.

At least three people were arrested as part of a larger international operation targeting Hezbollah, the radio channel said. According to the Polish hybrid media Visegrád 24, five more people were reportedly detained on Wednesday in this context, additional information has yet to be released in order to confirm this claim.

According to information provided by Catalunya Ràdio, on Tuesday morning, law enforcement searched a residence on Valence Street in the Sagrada Família neighborhood of Barcelona, where at least one of the three arrests took place. They also seized several bags of documents for analysis. Other arrests took place in France and the United Kingdom (UK).

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The operation is coordinated by the Spanish National Court, a court with nationwide jurisdiction based in Madrid, and the suspects are expected to appear in court on Thursday.

The investigation began in Spain after authorities detected large-scale purchases of materials intended for the manufacture of kamikaze drones capable of carrying explosives and intended to be shipped to conflict zones. According to revealed information, the individuals involved were tasked with providing logistical support for the manufacturing of drones and their accessories.

Hezbollah has not responded to requests from L’Orient-Le Jour at the time of the article’s publication.

According to Catalunya Ràdio, the operation, which led to arrests in France and the UK, is the culmination of an investigation launched in July targeting a network suspected of manufacturing drones for Hezbollah's operations.

The investigation began in Spain when the authorities detected "suspicious operations" conducted by Spanish companies run by Lebanese nationals involving large quantities of materials and components for manufacturing drones capable of carrying explosive charges of several kilograms, according to the Associated Press. Spanish and German authorities then stated they "believe Hezbollah may have built several hundred drones with these components."

Among the items purchased were electronic guidance systems, propulsion propellers, gasoline engines, more than 200 electric motors as well as materials for manufacturing drone fuselages and wings. Authorities estimated that several hundred drones could have been assembled from these components.

Hezbollah was engaged in an open conflict with Israel, a conflict that began on October 8, 2023, and escalated into near-total war last September. The party lost its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, his designated successor Hachem Safieddine, both assassinated by Israel, and was heavily bombarded in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, and southern Beirut until the truce came into effect on Nov. 27.

Israel still occupies five positions it considers "strategic" in southern Lebanon and continues its attacks on southern Lebanese villages as well as southern Beirut despite the cease-fire.