Chilean police announced the arrest of a Portuguese national wanted by Interpol for his involvement in the Beirut port explosion in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of over 200 people. The man, whose name has not been disclosed, arrived in Santiago on a flight from Spain before being placed on another flight back to Madrid, according to the police statement. Christian Saiz, a Santiago airport police official, stated that the man is wanted for allegedly bringing "explosive materials" into Lebanon linked to the massive explosion that devastated several neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. He added that, in coordination with Interpol, the man was prevented from entering Chile and was subsequently placed on a flight to Spain.
The explosion at the Beirut port on August 4, 2020, attributed by authorities to the storage of large amounts of ammonium nitrate without safety precautions, killed at least 214 people and injured over 6,500 others, in addition to causing extensive damage to the capital. Interpol had issued "red notices" for three individuals connected to the explosive materials that caused the Beirut port explosion. The Lebanese news agency reported that the red notice was issued for two Russians and a Portuguese linked to explosive materials shipped to Beirut, which were stored at the city’s port for six years until they exploded in August 2020.
The agency noted that the red notice issued by Interpol concerns the owner and captain of the ship "Rosus," which carried 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate to Lebanon in 2013, as well as a Portuguese nitrate trader who visited the port warehouse in Beirut in 2014, where the materials were stored. The agency did not disclose the names of the three individuals; however, local media mentioned the identity of the ship's former captain, Boris Prokushkin, and Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, residing in Cyprus, who purchased the cargo ship in 2012. The Portuguese national is identified as Jorge Manuel Mira Nito Morera, according to the Associated Press.
