Police in Florence and Siena
on Tuesday placed 12 people under investigation in a probe into
potentially subversive far-right extremist militants.
The suspects are being probed for possession of weapons with
the aim of setting up an association with subversive ends,
police said.
DIGOS security police are carrying out raids of homes and
offices in the province of Siena, police said.
The suspects allegedly hailed racial hatred and fascism,
police said.
Police said the suspects were "of a certain age" and did not
have criminal records.
A lot of material was seized including weapons for which the
suspects had licenses, police said.
Explosives were found at one of the raided premises, police
said, and a bomb squad was called in.
Police said the raids and searches were carried out at
Sovicille, Poggibonsi, and the centre of Siena.
"At the moment we have not found evidence of links to
existing extreme right political groups," police said.
"The searches are the first act in a probe that has to be
developed," said Florence anti-mafia unit chief prosecutor
Giuseppe Creazzo.
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