Italian counterterrorism officials
have seized a stash of weapons, fascist
paraphernalia, and an air to air missile in
Turin, according to the Italian Police. The
raids were part of an investigation into
Italian fighters with extremist ideologies
who had fought alongside Russian backed separatist forces in Ukraine.
Alessandro Monti, a Swiss national,
and Fabio Bernardi, an Italian, were
arrested after a Matra R.530F air-to-air
missile was found at an airport hangar
they had listed for sale. The missile was
in working condition but did not have an
explosive charge.
While it was made in France, Qatar’s
foreign affairs ministry has announced
that the missile was once owned by
Qatar’s military, and was later sold
to a “friendly country” that remained
unnamed.
The owner of the missile, former fascist
party candidate Fabio Del Bergiolo,
was identified by Italian police after he
used the popular messaging platform
Whatsapp to send photos of the weapon.
According to Italian media, he was
attempting to sell the missile for 470,000
euros, or just under 700,000 Canadian
dollars.
A police raid on Del Brogiolo’s home
yielded neo-Nazi signs and coats of arms
as well as a massive weapons stash: A
machine gun, 3 shotguns, 9 assault rifles,
20 bayonets, 306 firearm parts, and 831
cartridges of ammunition were all seized.
The Turin police commissioner has
called the event a “significant seizure,
with few precedents in Italy”.