A neo-Nazi group in northern Italy had sent members to allegedly fight alongside Russia-backed separatists in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Apparently, the group brought some things back from their adventures—including a French-made air-to-air missile that somehow found its way from Qatar into the home of a neo-fascist extremist.
The missile and an assortment of other weapons were discovered in the latest of a series of raids by Italian federal police from the General Investigations and Special Operations Division (DIGOS). The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into the Forza Nuova political party and Rebel Firm extremist groups that had fought in the Donbass region.
Other raids had turned up pro-Nazi and pro-fascist propaganda and relics alongside caches of knives and other illegal weapons—including brass knuckles, and a baseball bat inscribed with the words "Dux Mussolini" (Leader Mussolini) and a portrait of Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The groups were also being investigated under Italy's anti-fascist laws, following pro-fascist comments by Forza Nuova's leader in Turin, Luigi Cortese. But in a raid today in the province of Pavia, south of Milan, police discovered a collection of modern automatic weapons—including nine assault rifles, a submachine gun, seven pistols, silencers, bayonets, and other military weapons.
On top of all that, there was also the missile. The Matra Super 530 F, a short-to-medium range air to air missile, was initially sold to Qatar to arm the Qatar Emiri Air Force's Mirage 2000 (and previously, Mirage F1) fighter aircraft. The missile was found in a shipping canister during this latest raid, and it appears to be in working order—though it did not have an explosive warhead installed, according to DIGOS.
Just how a French-built Qatari missile found its way into the collection of a group of neo-fascists in the Italian Piedmont region is not clear. But Forza Nuevo has supported the Syrian government, and one of those arrested in the raid—Fabio Del Bergiolo, 50, who ran for the Italian Senate in 2001 as a Forza Nuova candidate—is a former customs anti-fraud inspector. Del Bergiolo was apparently attempting to sell the missile for 470,000 Euros to "a foreign government official," according to police.
[Update, July 16, 9:21 am] The original Italian police statement on the raid stated that the investigation was into individuals who had fought against the separatists in Donbass, while other sources reported that Forza Nuova and other groups had supported the pro-Russian separatists. Ars contacted the Italian national police press office, and the release was changed, with the comment about fighting against the separatists removed. The Italian police are investigating far-right groups that have fought on both sides of the Donbass conflict in Ukraine. Forza Nuova has openly supported the Russian separatist movement in Ukraine in the past, as well as the Syrian regime. Some neofascists have already been convicted for fighting on the side of the Donbass separatists.
