The Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution secures a large number of illegal weapons and war material from suspected neo-Nazis.
Baden district – In the course of investigations against a 53-year-old man from the Baden district, who is suspected of having acted in a National Socialist manner, among other things, a large number of weapons were found. In the past, the man had sent numerous files relating to National Socialism to Internet forums.
The advanced investigations against the man led to a house search of the man’s home address by officials from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism. There, the officers found a large number of illegal firearms, war material, silencers, prohibited weapons, weapon parts as well as over 1200 kg of ammunition, gunpowder in large quantities and Nazi devotional items and seized them.
Austria: Neo-Nazi hoard large quantities of live weapons
During the house search war material in the form of two machine guns, six machine pistols, an assault rifle, a sniper rifle and replacement barrels and breeches for firearms of all categories were found: from the pump gun to the 17 revolvers and pistols to 23 long weapons such as rifles and shotguns.
The never-ending hodgepodge of weapons in the possession of the 53-year-old is suspicious. In addition to a lot of silencers and knuckles, 21 so-called “shooting pens” were also seized by the officers. Cut and stab weapons, pepper sprays, electric shock devices and much more were also part of the arsenal.
In addition to the weapons found, Nazi memorabilia were also seized
In addition to the large number of weapons and explosives, the alleged neo-Nazi also had a lot of Nazi memorabilia in his possession. The officers of the constitution protection found a steel helmet with a swastika and other NS devotional objects such as flyers, medals, coins and a bust of Erwin Rommel. Various relevant literature in the form of magazines and books were also part of the find.
While still on site, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution issued a provisional gun ban for the 53-year-old man and his wife of the same age, who also lives in the household. Neither the husband nor his wife confesses. Current investigations are focused on any backers who may be linked to this crime.
Austria’s interior minister congratulates the investigators
The Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer thanked and congratulated the investigators from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: “The consistent action against right-wing extremism is not only part of the historical responsibility, but also a very clear advocacy of our democratic coexistence in Austria.”
The Minister of the Interior also emphasizes the particular importance of combating extremism: “The Directorate for State Security and Intelligence will also pay particular attention to the prevention of extremism in order to be successful on several levels,” concludes Nehammer.
The public prosecutor and the responsible administrative authority will file charges against the man and his wife on the basis of the objects that have been seized. There have been incidents of neo-Nazis in possession of weapons in the past. (Lukas Zigo)
