POLICE hunting the on-the-run Paris attacker knew exactly where he was – but couldn’t raid his bolthole because it would BREAK THE LAW, a Belgian government minister claimed.
The Paris terrorist on the run apparently evaded Belgian police for a second time |
Europe’s most wanted man Salah Abdeslam slipped through the fingers of Belgium police despite them circling the Brussels district of Molenbeek to carry out hundreds of raids in the hunt for terrorists.
It
has now been claimed they suspected where Abdeslam was just two days
after the Paris massacres which killed 130 people, but were unable to
storm the property because of a Belgian law restricting police searches.
The
bizarre 1967 law bans searches from being carried out between 9pm and
5am - with exceptions for fires and obvious offences, according to
Belgian newspaper Le Soir.
But the law does not specify regulations regarding terrorism offences.
Belgian
police finally arrived at the property at 5pm the next day after
obtaining a search warrant - only to find that Abdeslam had long fled.
Belgian
police said it was too early to jump to conclusions over how Europe’s
most wanted and dangerous man evaded the police glare.
The Abdeslam family's apartment in Molenbeek |
But the blunder was revealed by Belgian minister of justice Koen Geens during an interview with a Flemish television channel.
Mr Geens said: “The public enemy number one was apparently in a property in Molenbeek two days after the Paris attacks.
“His location was known to intelligence services.”
The
apparent mistake will put Belgian police under the spotlight once again
- whose handling of homegrown extremism has already been questioned
after it emerged a number of Belgian Islamic State (ISIS) jihadis were
involved in the Paris attacks.
The revelation has prompted some calls to change the law in the Belgian penal code to allow searches to be carried out 24/7.
Abdeslam
was last seen the day after the Paris attacks crossing the French
border into Belgium when he was questioned by police but was let go.
Molenbeek
was thrust into the international spotlight after it emerged several of
the Paris terrorists were from the Brussels district.
Fears of Abdeslam being in Belgium sparked a four-day lockdown in the capital Brussels in late November.
The
news of the second failure to catch the fugitive terrorist came as
French authorities confirmed the suicide vest found dumped on a Parisian
street 10 days after the attacks was worn by Abdeslam.
Several raids have been carried out in Molenbeek in the wake of the Paris attacks |
Mr Geens spoke of a “drawback” and his office confirmed investigators “encountered limitations in the law”.
However the federal prosecutor’s office urged caution over the claims made by Belgian media.
A
statement said: “We had information indicating Salah (Abdeslam) was
possibly in the property in question. A search was therefore carried out
but nothing was found.
“Suggesting he was not arrested because
we were unable to carry out searches between 9pm and 5am and that he
escaped during this timeframe is speculation.”
Traces of sweat on the explosive
belt discovered in the Paris suburb of Montrouge matched Abdeslam’s DNA,
according to a source close to the ongoing investigation.
Investigators
are now trying to determine whether Abdeslam was supposed to blow
himself on the night of the attacks on November 13 but backed out.
Paris
prosecutor François Molins said mobile phone signals have confirmed
Abdeslam dropped off three suicide bombers at the Stade de France before
heading to the 18th arrondissement.
Tributes left for Paris attack victims at Place de la République |
Abdeslam reportedly approached a friend in Brussels and said he regretted his part in the attacks, which had “gone too far”.
He added he dared not give himself up because he feared ISIS would take revenge against his family.
It is feared the fugitive may have fled to Syria.
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