The office issued a statement late Thursday stating that federal authorities were working closely with Geneva cantonal police and judicial authorities who are reportedly seeking at least four and possibly six people suspected of planning an attack.
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“As part of investigations conducted both internationally and nationally following the Paris attacks, Geneva cops and its partners are actively searching for people flagged by the Confederation”, the safety department assertion stated, referencing to the Swiss national authorities.
The Tribune de Geneve newspaper, in an unconfirmed report, said the intelligence originally came from the United States.
A vague threat had turned into a concrete one, Emmanuelle Lo Verso, the spokesperson for the Geneva security department said without giving any further details.
Geneva’s safety department added in that city authorities received word in that the “suspicious individuals who could be in Geneva or the Geneva region”.
“The ultimate goal is to prevent a terrorist event”, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
Though it is not yet known if the men can be directly linked to the attacks in Paris, there is sufficient evidence to believe that they have links to terrorism, reported Reuters.
It comes after authorities in Brussels made numerous arrests while the city was placed on lockdown last month.
Customs guards are reported by Le Temps to be on high alert, but not more visible than usual.
United Nations security guards are stationed with MP5 sub-machine guns at entry points for cars, a highly unusual measure at the sprawling complex in Geneva.
But there did not appear to be a massive mobilization of security personnel across the city, according to AFP journalists.
Authorities were increasing police deployments in Geneva.
Meanwhile, in France, a man was detained Thursday after weapons were discovered in his home in a continuation of the rolling searches seen since a state of emergency was imposed after the bloodshed in Paris.
Swiss security officials say Geneva police are “actively searching” for suspects in connection with an investigation into the Paris attacks last month. Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive suspected in the deadly attacks in Paris, is still at large.
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Last month, Switzerland said it had active criminal proceedings against 33 individuals over suspected ties to extremist groups, but that only three people were in custody.
