Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH expat caught up in a terror plot probe has had her home raided by bomb squad and sniffer dogs, it has emerged.
The unnamed woman was arrested on Monday alongside her Spanish husband in the sleepy town of Lanjaron in Granada.
They are suspected of being linked to the assassination attempt of far-right Spanish politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras, 78 – who was shot in the face outside his home in the upmarket neighbourhood of Salamana in Madrid last month.
Meanwhile, a third individual, a man, was also arrested yesterday, in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
Neither of the three are believed to have fired the shot that almost killed Vidal-Quadras.
According to Diario de Sevilla, the two men are currently suspected of helping prepare the shooting.
Policia Nacional are currently searching for a fourth suspect, from Tunisia, who they believe fired the 9mm parabellum calibre pistol before fleeing the scene on a motorbike.
To what extent the British woman was involved is not yet known.
Sources say she has lived in the Alpujarra region of Granada for ‘a long time’.
According to neighbours quoted by Spanish press, the couple moved to the flat they were arrested in, on Avenida de la Alpujarra, just two weeks ago.
However they also had a second home, which they had been residing in since at least the summer.
That home consisted of four stories and was located between Calle Huelva and Calle San Roque, also in Lanjaron.
It became the scene of a dramatic search on Monday evening involving more than 20 uniformed officers.
The TEDAX bomb squad and sniffer dogs were also involved in the raid, before agents were seen taking away multiple suitcases and boxes as evidence.
Police sources told Ideal that the search took more than three hours because they found so much ‘interesting material’.
The arrested partner of the British woman was brought to the second search to participate.
He was pictured being led away in handcuffs with a hood over his head.
The married couple were only found out due to their terrible parking, it emerged overnight.
Their car was left in a parking bay that was temporarily off limits, as the area is being prepared for an agri-food and honey festival.
The City Council’s efforts to find its owners led to a car rental agency in Malaga from which the car had been leased.
A police source said: “When entering the license plate into the system, all the alarms went off.”
The agents blocked the street of the home and the adjacent ones, only allowing residents to pass through, before making their arrests.
Meanwhile, the man arrested in Fuengirola is linked to the motorbike used by the shooter to make his getaway, reports Europa Press.
The burned-out vehicle was found in Fuenlabrada, a quiet neighbourhood in Madrid, hours after the attack.
Police are still treating the shooting as a potential terror attack.
Vidal-Quadras was reportedly convinced that the hit was ordered by the Iranian regime due to his years of criticism against its ruling elite.
It comes after the country listed Vidal-Quadras as a terrorist and applied sanctions against him.
