Wanted by the Lebanese judicial authorities, he is being sought for allegedly “introducing explosives into Lebanon, a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a large number of people, and disabling machinery with the intent of sinking a ship”, the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Grechushkin was arrested during a routine check of passengers arriving from Paphos, according to border police.
“He offered no resistance. He repeatedly insisted on speaking to a lawyer and, after consulting one, he fully cooperated,” Zdravko Samuilov, head of the border police at Sofia Airport, told reporters on Tuesday.
He informed the officers that he came to Bulgaria “for tourism”, Samuilov added.
Beirut is preparing to request the extradition of Grechushkin, according to a Lebanese judicial source.
Authorities rely “on Grechushkin’s statements and on the information he holds to shed light on essential aspects of the investigation,” the source said.
The Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship sailing from Georgia and bound for Mozambique, is widely understood to have brought the fertiliser to Beirut in 2013.
The Lebanese source said investigators would seek to determine “whether the cargo that departed from Georgia was genuinely destined for Mozambique or if the true destination was Beirut, and whether the ship had previously transported other shipments of ammonium nitrate”.
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