Police seized dozens of weapons and arrested three men in different parts of the country who are said to have links to radical right-wing groups. 

Six machine guns, ten rifles, five pistols, 31 ammunition belts, 18 magazines, grenades and 8,000 rounds of ammunition were found at an address in Bodø, Northern Norway, and subsequently confiscated by law enforcement.

One man has been arrested in connection with the weapons found at the address in Bodø, and two more men, one from Lillestrøm and one from Hamar, have also been arrested on weapons charges.

“The arrest gave police further reason to investigate two other people in two other police districts. These two have now been arrested. During the search, police also found weapons with them,” Police Attorney for Nordland Police District Tore Finne Stømer told state broadcaster NRK. 

Some of the weapons have been described as legal collector’s items dating back to the Second World War. Some of the firearms seized are, however, still believed to be functional. 

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Norway’s security agency PST is involved in the investigation, the agency confirmed. 

“PST is aware of the arrests. We have been following the investigation and are collaborating with police forces,” Martin Bernsen, head of information at PST, told NRK.

The arrests were made on the back of a weeks-long investigation police have made into a network of illegal weapons sales in Norway. The three men will be remanded in custody with a ban on visitors and letters.

The network has links to right-wing extremist groups, police confirmed according to NRK.  

Weapons seized by the police have been sent to The National Criminal Investigation Service to be examined. Clarification on the condition of the guns and their functionality will be given within the next week. 

Ole-Kristian Ringes, the lawyer for the man arrested in Bodø, told NRK that his client has acknowledged the facts but denied guilt. 

Ringes distanced his client from links to right-wing extremism and described him as “apolitical” and not involved in the political environment since 2017.