Three suspects were arrested in the so-called case of the coffins left at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Placed under the status of assisted witnesses, they were released this Monday.
Saturday June 1, five coffins covered with a French flag with the words “French soldier from Ukraine” were placed around 9 a.m. at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in front of tourists and Parisians. After a rapid intervention by the police, it was determined that the coffins ultimately did not contain any bodies, but simply plaster. Three individuals with a surprising profile were arrested and taken into custody, after first fleeing on foot.
While the suspects are virtually unknown to law enforcement and other intelligence services, Lazar L. was identified as the driver of the van. Born in June 1985 in Bulgaria, he was arrested immediately, near the Alma bridge. According to a source close to the matter, including TF1 Info reports the remarks, he explained that he had been paid to drop off two men and their cargo at the foot of the Iron Lady. Assuring that he had never seen his accomplices before the day before the events, he explained that he had arrived on Friday from Bulgaria. And to specify about the beers: “I saw the coffins… I asked them to open them to make sure that no body was in them.” According to information collected by TF1, it seems that the driver of the van was in contact with one of the individuals involved in the so-called “red hands” affair. On the night of May 13 to 14, red hands were spray painted on the wall of the Righteous at the Shoah memorial. A case which could have been sponsored with the aim of destabilize and press on the divisions in French society.
Arrested later on Saturday afternoon at the Bercy bus station, as they were preparing to board a bus to Berlin, the two other suspects were identified as Yevhen D., a young man born in December 2007, resident in Germany, but holder of a Ukrainian passport, and Mohamed H., a German born in January 1999. Both met for the first time in Berlin before meeting in France for this affair . Unemployed and claiming to need money, the three strangers confided that they had accepted this paid mission: 120 euros for the driver and 400 euros for the two others. Presented Monday to an investigating judge, the three teammates were placed under the status of assisted witnesses and left free, reported TF1 and LCI Monday evening. The two individuals who placed the coffins are still subject to an obligation to leave French territory with administrative detention.