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TERRORISM

Swiss man arrested as Italian police seize ‘combat ready’ missile during anti-terror raids

A Swiss man has been arrested during raids on far-right extremist groups in northern Italy which saw police seize an air-to-air missile and other sophisticated weapons.

Published: 15 July 2019 18:18 CEST
Swiss man arrested as Italian police seize 'combat ready' missile during anti-terror raids
The 3.5-metre long weapon is reportedly worth €500,000. Photo: AFP/Italian National Police

The man from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino was arrested in a hotel near Italy’s Forli airport, according to Swiss media.

Two others were arrested while police also seized neo-Nazi propaganda in raids in several cities. 

Italian media say the raids were part of an investigation into Italian far-right help for Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. 

Photo: Turin Police

The Turin special police force, called Digos, led the operations, assisted by police in Milan, Varese, Forli and Novara. 

Italian media named those arrested as Fabio Del Bergiolo, 50, an Italian ex-customs officer and far-right Forza Nuova party activist; Alessandro Monti, 42, a Swiss national; and Fabio Bernardi, 51, also Italian.

Swiss media reported that Alessandro Monti comes from Bissone in the district of Lugano.

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CRIME

Hoax bomb threats against French airports ‘traced to Swiss email’

Repeated bomb threats against dozens of French airports which led to evacuations and flight cancellations have been 'traced to an email address in Switzerland', according to French authorities.

Published: 23 October 2023 09:13 CEST
Hoax bomb threats against French airports 'traced to Swiss email'

More than 70 bomb threats have been made against French airports in the past week, leading to evacuations at dozens of airports and at least 130 flights cancelled.

Most of the alerts were triggered by emails warning of a bomb in the airport – more than 70 such emails have been received by airports around the country such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris Beauvais, Marseille and dozens of smaller airports – including Basel-Mulhouse on the Franco-Swiss border. 

On Sunday French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said that “almost all of the threats have been traced to the same email address, situated in Switzerland”.

He added: “Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union, in Switzerland”.

He called on hosting sites to help the French authorities, saying: “Everyone has a responsibility, including the platforms and social networks, not to support this kind of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation authorities and our justice system.”

In France, the maximum penalty for making a hoax bomb threat is two years in jail and a €30,000 fine.

As well as airport evacuations and flight disruption, French tourist sites have also been hit with bomb hoaxes – the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated seven times in the past week.

It comes in the context of a tense situation in France as the country raised its terror alert to maximum after an apparent Islamist attack on Friday, October 13th in which a teacher was killed and two others wounded.

Security at large events such as the Rugby World Cup matches has been stepped up. 

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