Shanghai police have 'cracked' a group of terrorists after obtaining information that international terrorists were targeting the Games, a top police official said yesterday.
'We have staged raids and cracked a group of terrorists,' Shanghai Public Security deputy director Cheng Jiulong told state media. He said police had 'obtained information that international terrorist organisations would likely launch an attack against an Olympic venue in the city during the Games'.
Mr Chen would not say when the raids began, how many terrorists were detained or where they came from, Xinhua reported.
'According to information we have obtained, the Olympic venue, athlete's apartments and routes leading to the venue are at a safe level now,' he said. 'As we analyse the current situation, the threat of terrorist attacks is still present. International terrorist organisations have already issued threats to attack Shanghai.'
Mr Cheng's comments were the first time mainland police had explicitly said they had information that international terrorists were likely to target the Games. Earlier this month, Meng Hongwei , deputy minister of public security, said the top threat facing the Olympics was the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a Xinjiang separatist group. He also cited international terrorist groups and mainland criminals as security concerns.
Shangahi police also announced a range of security measures to ensure the safety of Olympic soccer matches in the city, including cash rewards for tips. Shanghai government spokesman Chen Qiwei said yesterday security measures for the 12 soccer matches as part of the Games next month would be extremely strict.
'The police have already taken steps for a portion of those people who create a threat,' he said.