According to Ok Dario, a Spanish online newspaper, the National Intelligence Center has collaborated in the past with Abdelbaki Es Satty. Reportedly, the Rippol Imam who planned for the Catalonia attacks was supposed to keep an eye on jihadists in Spain. Details. Three months after the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, a Spanish newspaper revealed a new part of the story referring to the terrorist cell and the so-called «Imam» of Ripoll. Ok Diario, an online newspaper indicates that Abdelbaki Es Satty is a long-time «collaborator» of the National Intelligence Center (CNI). The Spanish media states that this «collaboration» started when the Moroccan national was detained in the Castellon prison in Spain. This cooperation allowed him to stay in the Spanish territory after being convicted for drug trafficking in 2014. More than that, he managed to receive a residence card in April 2015 instead of being deported to Morocco, adds the same source. His expulsion from Belgium in early 2016 due to his criminal record did not prevent him from returning to Catalonia. Playing a double game Providing the CNI agents with information on jihadists in Spain, Ripoll's self-proclaimed «Imam» created his own network away from the «nosy eyes» of the Catalan police, sending recruits to reinforce Daesh' troops in the Iraqi-Syrian front. The same newspaper indicates that the Spanish counterintelligence acknowledged having «contacted» Es Satty when he was detained. A decision that met the needs of the CNI looking for the moment for a specific person who would provide information on extremism in Spain. In Castellón prison, the Moroccan national was close to another countryman, Rachid Aglif, a member of the cell that carried out the Madrid attacks on March 11, 2004, sentenced to 18 years in prison. His release is scheduled for 2022. In addition to that, Es Satty and his cousin also had links with the Islamic Group of Moroccan Fighters (GICM). A terrorist banner close to al-Qaeda and active since the early 2000s.
