Arms cache found in Alsace police raid on alleged neo-Nazis
Two men in France’s north-eastern Alsace region were arrested after police raided the home of alleged neo-Nazis and found a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
They found 23 illegal weapons, eighteen legal weapons and 120,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as Kalashnikovs, magazines and more than 35 kilograms of explosives.
Prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot said during a press conference that two of the four men arrested on 31st May had been indicted for arms trafficking and put in prison. They face ten years in jail.
Two other men are free but under judicial supervision, while a further individual was released without charge.
Mr Roux-Morizot said that the men were not believed to be planning an attack, but with the large weapons cache there was a fear that they could “take action.” Police were monitoring their computer data, he said.
The raid also yielded three machines for making ammunition, a machine to heat casings, two silencers, a banknote counter and more than 25,000 euros in banknotes.
Judicial police chief Lieutenant-Colonel Yann Wanson said that the haul was “intended” for “war,” adding that one of the suspects had trained as a sniper.
Mr Roux-Morizot said that the suspects were aged between 45 and 53 and had jobs. Their alleged neo-Nazi affiliation was reportedly confirmed by the literature found among their belongings.
According to a report published by the French Jewish community’s main watchdog, antisemitic incidents in France have skyrocketed. Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents in France.