Spanish media said ETA was planning to help the prisoners break out of a jail in Huelva and cross into Portugal by helicopter as part of a plot dating back to 2007.
Three prisoners have been detained in connection with the plan, including Jorge Garcia Sertutxa, who was convicted of plotting to kill King Juan Carlos in 1995 and is serving a 109-year sentence in Huelva.
Another ETA prisoner believed to have a role in the plan is Igor Solana, who was caught trying to break out of jail in 2001 and is currently serving time in Valencia in relation with several assassinations.
Four suspected ETA collaborators have also been arrested for alleged involvement in the escape plot. One of the prisoners’ girlfriends and a lawyer from Bilbao were among those arrested, Spanish media said.
Since 1968, ETA has killed more than 800 people in bombings and shootings as part of its four-decade campaign for an independent Basque homeland.
(Reporting by Blanca Rodriguez; Writing by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Janet Lawrence
