Italian police said on Monday they seized a real arsenal of war, including an air-to-air missile and a score of sophisticated rifles, during a net strike with far-right supporters in the north of the peninsula. This anti-terrorist operation targeted Italians "of extremist ideology" who fought alongside pro-Russian rebels against Ukrainian troops in Donbass.
"During the operation, an air-to-air missile in perfect working order and used by the Qatar army was seized," police said in a statement, broadcasting images of the missile.
Similarly, the police found some twenty sophisticated weapons of war, including "latest generation" automatic assault rifles, numerous ammunition and objects of neo-Nazi propaganda.
Three people arrested
Three people have been arrested: Fabio Del Bergiolo, 50, former candidate on the lists of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova, as well as a 42-year-old Swiss and a 51-year-old Italian man arrested near Forli airport (north-east) ), suspected of having sought to sell the missile.
"We have some ideas on what can be done with the material seized but for now nothing allows us to make assumptions," said the police chief of Turin, Giuseppe De Matteis. "At the moment, there is nothing to remind us of subversive projects," added Eugenio Spina, an anti-terrorism officer.
The police have led several raids in recent weeks in the far-right movement around Turin. The latest, on July 9, led to the arrest of Fabio Carlo D'Allia, accused of apologizing for fascism and possession of war ammunition.