According to him, a man working as a salsa and bachata teacher in Russia recruited mostly job seekers from Latin American countries on social networks, who could move freely within the Schengen area.
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According to data collected by journalists, O. Romagoza Durruthy coordinated planned terrorist acts by Russia’s GRU in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Lithuania from May to September 2024.
In Lithuania, he is linked to attempts in September 2024 in Šiauliai to set fire to mobile radio spectrum analysis stations intended for Ukraine, located on the premises of the company “TVC Solutions,” which are also used to detect drones.
At that time, the company of Ramūnas Dirmeikis, director of “TVC Solutions,” had produced more than half of the order – 18 out of thirty stations.
According to law enforcement data, equipment worth more than 1.5 million euros was attempted to be set on fire on September 17 and 22. In the second case, the incendiary liquid ignited, but the fire did not spread to the devices.
According to the LRT Investigations Department, Colombians, Cubans, a Spaniard, a Belarusian, and a Russian were recruited for the operation in Lithuania. Plane tickets, hotels, and taxis were booked for them, and information about the target was passed on.
According to the investigation, some suspects did not know that the real client of the operation was Russia’s GRU. Lawyers of the persons on trial in Šiauliai told journalists that their clients claimed they were tasked with supposedly intimidating business competitors.
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LRT reports that O. Romagoza Durruthy searched for operatives in the social network groups “Telegram” and “Facebook.” Using several different accounts, he offered earnings in Europe and, in some cases, sought people with military experience.
One Colombian he recruited, according to the investigation, carried out two attacks in Poland in May 2024 – in Warsaw and Radom, and later set fire to a bus depot in Prague. Another Colombian was detained in Romania while preparing to set fire to a waste recycling company.
Currently, seven persons suspected or accused of terrorist activities are detained in Lithuania, and international arrest warrants have been issued for three others, including O. Romagoza Durruthy. One of the wanted suspects – Cuban Mayra Eukaris de la Lastra Nistal – was detained in Panama this year.
Two main organizers of the Šiauliai attack – Cuban citizens Alexeis Pecoroso and O. Romagoza Durruthy – are sought internationally.
The investigation was conducted by LRT together with Germany’s “Deutsche Welle,” the Czech public broadcaster’s investigative journalist teams, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Investigative Journalism platform.
BNS reported that in a case submitted to court in January, citizens of Belarus, Colombia, Spain, Cuba, and Russia are accused of participating in a terrorist group, attempting to commit a terrorist act, and financing terrorist activities. The strictest preventive measure – detention – applies to all defendants.
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