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IRGC-linked crew members’ hotel raided by Argentinian police

A judge issued a search warrant for the crew’s rooms on Tuesday. Police have not yet released a statement about the results.

By World Israel News Staff

Police in Argentina raided the hotel where the crew members of a suspicious Iranian cargo plane are currently staying on Tuesday, fueling rumors that the flight may be involved in supplying material supplies for terror or is being used to help Iran evade international sanctions.

A Venezuelan-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane, which was previously owned by Iran’s Mahan Air, touched down at Ministro Pistarini International Airport, near Buenos Aires, on June 6th.

Although the cargo plane was reportedly carrying automotive parts, the unusually high number of crew members on the flight immediately raised red flags with Argentinian security officials.

According to an Associated Press report, most cargo flights have six or seven crew members aboard. This flight, however, had a staggering 18 crew members on its roster, including seven Iranian nationals and 11 Venezuelans.

Venezuela is one of the few countries that has maintained warm ties with the Islamic Republic.

In a statement, Argentinian Security Minister Aníbal Fernández told Radio Perfil that a number of foreign governments have warned that some of the crew members work for “companies related to the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran,” which is designated as a terror organization by the U.S.

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The minister added that the roster and customs forms given by the crew included “things that were not logical.”

“They had declared a crew that was smaller than the one that travelled, and that led to an investigation that ended with the presentation of a habeas corpus [by their attorneys] that was rejected and that is why the investigation continues,” he said.

Since the plane landed last week, it has been prevented from being unloaded or leaving the airport by Argentinian authorities, and crew members have been sequestered in a local hotel.

Although a judge issued a search warrant for the crew’s rooms in the Hotel Plaza Canning on Tuesday, police have not yet released a statement about the results of the raid or made public any information about what they may have discovered.

On Monday, the passports of five of the Iranian crew members were seized by Argentinian police. A judge ordered that the authorities keep the plane grounded until further notice.