Four people were taken into custody after the operation which targeted the ultra-right movement in Alsace on Tuesday. Heavy weapons as well as substances that can be used to make explosives had been seized, report our colleagues from Latest News from Alsace.
These four suspects, men aged 40 to 60 living in the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, are still heard at the research section of the Strasbourg gendarmerie. A fifth person, also targeted by the operation, was left free, for lack of evidence against him. All five are known to belong to the “neo-Nazi” sphere.
weapons seized
Many weapons were discovered in particular in the village of Brinckheim, south of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin): submachine guns, assault rifles, ammunition and substances that can be used to make explosives. On the other hand, it is not yet known what use the suspects intended to make of it, or whether they harbored terrorist projects. Telephones and other media had also been seized to be exploited to determine if a possible passage to the act was planned.
The operation, which mobilized 200 gendarmes, took place on Tuesday within the framework of “administrative visits” authorized by a Parisian judge, “in connection with the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office” (PNAT), had indicated Tuesday the prefecture of Haut- Rhine.
The operation was initiated by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) after intelligence work.