French man linked to 2015 Paris attack held in Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID

A French man suspected of selling arms to an attacker involved in the 2015 attack on a Jewish supermarket in Paris has been arrested in southern Spain, Spanish police announced Wednesday.

Antoine Denive, a 27-year-old man from France, was detained in Malaga under a European warrant. Denive is suspected of leading an arms trafficking ring that provided weapons to Amedy Coulibaly, who was one of the three extremists who attacked Paris between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9 last year.

Coulibaly had killed five people, including a policewoman before he was eventually shot dead. He allegedly coordinated attacks with the Kouachi brothers, who stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, just a day before.

Avoiding police detection and using false documentation, Denive had left France weeks after the attacks on Paris and made his way to Malaga where he continued his illicit activity, investigators said.

Denive was arrested along with two others— one from Serbia and the other from Montenegro—who were inside his home at the time of the arrest, police said.

“We have been able to determine that the activities were related to individuals of Serbian origin, who may have helped him acquire arms and munition,” police statement said.