Brazil’s Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes, said the group was in the planning stage of an attack and police acted as a preventative measure.
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“It was an amateur, disorganized cell but no security agency can ignore facts of this nature, hence the arrests”.
The arrests were made in a series of raids in 10 states in Brazil, the ministry said.
Members of the group arrested did not appear to have any weapons but appeared to show interest in purchasing an assault rifle in neighboring Paraguay before Brazilian intelligence detected them.
Ten Brazilians who authorities described as amateurs were yesterday arrested in connection with an alleged plot to carry out attacks during the Games, while two others are being sought.
More than 80,000 police and soldiers will be on duty in Rio during the Olympics, which run from August 5 to 21.
Interim President Michel Temer called an emergency cabinet meting.
The police operation came as terror-related web “chatter” in Brazil is on the rise, said Robert Muggah, research director of Rio-based security think tank Igarapé Institute. The group had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State through social media and discussed the idea of performing attacks in the Rio area.
Moraes said in recent days the group had progressed from making “simple comments” about terrorist acts to preparing for an actual attack of their own. The lone wolf is meant to “inspire believers” and use the Olympic Games as a way to attack enemies of jihadi.
“Those involved participated in an online group denominated “the defenders of Sharia” and were planning to acquire weapons to commit crimes in Brazil and even overseas”, Moraes told a news conference.
The detainees, all Brazilians, had at least one contact with the militant organization for initiation purposes and one suspect planned to leave the country to make personal contact with a Daesh member but was unable to do so due to a lack of funds.
Two suspects remained at large, Moraes said, but were being “tracked”.
Do you think the Brazilian government will be able to handle the influx of tourists, athletes, and potential terrorists into the nation as concerns mount over the country’s capabilities to keep the games safe?
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Earlier this week, the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremism online, reported that a group in Brazil called called Ansar al-Khilafah pledged allegiance to ISIS on the messaging app Telegram.
