dismantled two ETA commando cells before they could strike , one of them last October in northern Spain 's Navarra province , and the other late Saturday , when the six suspects were arrested . Martitegi 's arrest came after police trailed an alleged ETA local leader from Spain to a meeting in France with Martitegi for a two-hour training session on the use of explosives and weapons , Rubalcaba said . Police made the arrests in France right after the meeting , before the alleged local leader could return to Spain to share those details with his alleged commando cells , Rubalcaba said . Police seized three pistols , two vehicles , and a small quantity of explosives from Martitegi and the two others arrested in France , Rubalcaba said . `` I think it 's very good news and shows the constant police coordination and the cooperation between the police and the courts , '' Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon , who was involved in the latest investigation , told reporters . Martitegi is the fifth ETA suspect arrested in France in the past two weeks . Given the heavy police crackdown , Rubalcaba said investigators have noted some
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The suspected leader of the Basque separatist group , ETA , and two alleged accomplices were arrested over the weekend in France . Jurdan Martitegui Lizaso is the fifth ETA suspect arrested in France in the past two weeks . Jurdan Martitegi Lizaso , 28 , was arrested Saturday in a French-Spanish operation near Perpignan in southeast France , Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Sunday in a nationally televised news conference here . Hours later , in northern Spain 's Basque region , six other ETA suspects -- ages 25-31 -- were arrested , Rubalcaba said . Police suspect Martitegi replaced the suspected ETA military chief who was arrested last December and who , in turn , had replaced the alleged ETA military chief who was arrested last November , Rubalcaba said . Those arrests occurred in France , from where ETA has launched a number of attacks into Spain . ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its more than four decades of fighting for Basque independence and is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States . Rubalcaba said police had also