The Barcelona terrorists bought material to make explosives saying it was for washing clothes and wood
The young terrorists of 17-A they bragged in their videos about how easy it was to get materials to make explosives. In addition to stealing them from the metallurgical company where one of Ripoll's jihadists worked, the cell lied so that several stores would sell them materials that were precursor to explosives with which they made the 'mother of Satan', the explosive that exploded in Alcanar and precipitated the Rambla and Cambrils attacks. This was explained this Wednesday at the National Court by those responsible and dependent on the establishments.
Two of the terrorists, Youssef Aalla (killed in the Alcanar explosion) and Mohamed Hichamy (killed in Cambrils) bought more than 300 liters of hydrogen peroxide, an explosives precursor, with the excuse that they wanted to sell it in Morocco to bleach steals, because in that country, they alleged, it is a material that is difficult to find. It happened, as explained by two sellers from the 'La Industrial Sabonera' store, on July 12 and 27, 2017.
One of the vendors reported that the terrorists told him that they wanted to "reduce hydrogen peroxide with water to sell it as a bleach" for clothes in Morocco. The two terrorists who made the purchase are already dead, but the operation also involves one of the defendants in the trial, Said Ben Iazza, because according to witnesses the jihadists used his ID to acquire the material. The Prosecutor's Office asks Ben Iazza for eight years in prison for collaborating with a terrorist organization.
Houli and Aalla, the sellers have indicated, intended to buy the material without an invoice, to which they refused because the dangerous goods regulations require identifying the origin, destination, vehicle registration and ID of the carrier. The document used by the terrorists was Ben Iazza's One day before the first purchase, another of the defendants in the trial, Mohamed Houli, went to the same store to, with the same excuse, buy another 100 liters of peroxide hydrogen. However, witnesses have explained, he did not have all the necessary documentation. The next day Aalla goes to buy the 100 liters, although she denies being related to Houli's consultation. Both tried to acquire the material without VAT or invoice, to which the sellers refused.
They finally managed to take the material away in vans, witnesses have explained. The one on July 27 had three refrigerators inside as Aalla and Hichamy had bought 240 liters. In another store in Tortosa, near Alcanar, the clerk explained that he sold 25 liters of acetone to the cell, which told him that he wanted the product to clean wood. They also bought 175 liters of acetone in Vic, halfway between Ripoll and Alcanar. The excuse this time was to fill a deposit.
Workers of a gold trading shop have also declared this Wednesday, one of the methods that the cell used to finance itself and be able to buy the explosive material. One of the employees at the Vinaròs store explained that Houli (injured in the Alcanar explosion and for whom the Prosecutor's Office is asking for 41 years in prison) wanted to sell some jewelry but that he refused to buy them because it gave him a "bad feeling." So did Aalla, equally unsuccessful.
They did find it in the 'Oro Inversión' store in Vinaròs, whose employees explained that the cell sold several jewels, saying that it was an inheritance from a grandmother and that they sold them with the authorization of their mother. One of the young people who sold the jewels was Houli, as identified by the workers, who have called him "normal, calm and friendly." The jewels were actually stolen, as the Ripoll woman from whom Said Aalla stole them has testified. The president of the court, Félix Alfonso Guevara, has promised to return them because the jewels are still in custody.
