• Tweeter

  • republish

During a survey of far-right sympathizers, police discovered a real arsenal of war in a warehouse in northern Italy on July 15, 2019. AFP / Polizia di Stato / HO

An investigation coordinated by the Turin prosecutor's office allowed the anti-terrorist police to get their hands on a real arsenal of war, including a Matra Super-530 air-to-air missile, held by members of the neo-fascist galaxy. The searches carried out in the north of Italy, in Milan, Novara, Varese, Pavia and Forli also made it possible to seize dozens of objects with Nazi iconography.

With our correspondent in Rome, Anne Le Nir

The investigation against neo-fascist groups, some of whose wanted members fought alongside pro-Russian rebels against Ukrainian troops in the Donbass, dates back to 2018.

#Digos Torino con Milano, Varese, Pavia, Novara e Forlì coordinate da Polizia Prevenzione #Ucigos hanno sequestrato an arsenale di armi da guerra nel Nord Italia a soggetti dell'estrema destra oltranzista che in passato hanno presente parte a conflitto nella regione ucraina Donbass pic .twitter.com / i7ONjV5RqN

Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) July 15, 2019

It has led to a major anti-terrorism operation in several cities in northern Italy. And to seize assault rifles, machine guns, swords and ammunition. But the most spectacular discovery is a French-made air-to-air missile, which was " used by the Qatari army in the 1980s, " according to statements by the Italian police. He was hidden in a shed, located in the province of Pavia.

Three men, suspected of trying to sell the missile, a Swiss and two Italians, were arrested. Among them, a former Milanese customs inspector and long-time activist of the small neo-fascist party Forza Nuova. According to what the Turin prosecutor said, "at the current stage of the investigation, no hypothesis can be formulated about the intentions of its radical right-wing individuals ".