Those arrested, four men and three women, were arrested after an investigation in which both the European security authorities and the American CIA and FBI were involved. Whether the Swedish police has been involved is unclear.
Al-Qaeda was in 2007 said to have put a price of 100.000 dollars on Vilks head after the controversy surrounding his drawing of the Prophet Mohammed as a dog. Also the editor-in-chief at newspaper Nerikes Allehanda was threatened to be killed, and both were under the protection of the Swedish authorities.
But the now arrested persons are, according to British media reports, not members of any terrorist group.
The arrests were made during the Tuesday morning by the Irish police, with support of the country's special anti-terrorist force.
According to the Irish public service broadcaster RTE, those arrested were originally from Morocco and Yemen, but have refugee status and resides legally in Ireland.
The Swedish security police are aware of the case and knew that the arrest was at once, says press secretary Mattias Lindholm to news agency TT.
“We have regular contacts with the Irish equivalent of our organisation. The perpetrators are not affiliated with Sweden”, he said.
Since this is a pending case, he says he could not tell more. He I also unable to comment on the security measures taken around Lars Vilks.
“We never comment on threat assessments".
Despite the fact that the Swedish security police knew that the arrest was at once, it seems they never informed Lars Vilks.
“I have not received any information at all about this, but for just over a month ago the security police announced that there was a heightened threat assessment against me. I take it with equanimity, " he says to newspaper Aftonbladet.
As recently as January, he received a death threats over the phone that was later traced to Somalia.
“I have built up a defence system in my home, and the police are patrolling here sometimes," he says.