Austrian police seize weapons arsenal, arrest 10 far-right members

Police in Austria have seized a large arsenal of weapons and arrested 10 members of the extreme far-right.
More than 70 large weapons were found, including machine guns and sub-machine guns, Director General for Public Security Franz Ruf told a news conference on Thursday.
In addition, investigators discovered around 100 pistols, more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, 1,000 weapon parts that could have been used to make 500 more pistols and 400 other guns.
According to the authorities, the weapons had a total value of €1.5 million ($1.6 million).
"The seizure of automatic weapons is an alarming indication of how dangerous this scene is," said Justice Minister Alma Zadić.
Around 550 Nazi-inspired objects such as medals, flags and writings, as well as €600,000 in cash were also seized.
The 10 suspects were arrested on suspicion of offences against laws governing weapons, among other possible charges, authorities said. The suspects have remained silent.
The extremist scene in Austria was undergoing a "professionalization surge" and was trying to network internationally more than ever, said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of the country's security service.
In 2022, there were 660 investigations, 100 house searches and 37 arrests involving the far-right scene in Austria.