Tunisian security arrested 13 members of network working

Tunisian security forces arrested on Thursday 13 members of a network that works on financing terrorists in Syria. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the cell transferred the funds to Syria through Tunisia, Libya and Turkey.

The members of the network hail from various countries and include two women. The operatives transferred vast sums of money to Turkey, where a Turkish member of the network, sent them to Syria. Eleven members of the network were arrested in the city of Ben Guerdan in southern Tunisia.

Most of them “launder money earned in trafficking foreign currencies by buying gold and real estate and funding their trade activities,” the Interior Ministry explained according to Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP). During a raid on the suspects’ location, authorities seized 3 million dinars (1.2 million dollars), gold and foreign currencies, as well as shotguns and two cars that were used in their operations.

The detainees face charges of money laundering and collecting funds for individuals, organizations and operations linked to terrorist crimes.