Police carried out a series of raids last week on a group of right-wing extremists in Stavanger, seizing illegal weapons, two kilos of hash, 30 grams of amphetamines and Nazi propaganda.
The raid targeted members of Den Norske Motstandsbevegelsen, a neo-Nazi group in Norway that is inspired by Adolf Hitler and believed to be run from Sweden. Most of the members are aged 20 to 40 and prefer to call themselves “national socialists.”
Police Chief Hans Vik of the Rogaland Police District told newspaper Dagsavisen that the goal of the raids was ” to hinder and stop recruitment, and get folks out of a national socialistic milieu that can become more radical and dangerous.” Vik claimed that right-wing extremists “have ambitions of changing society in an un-democratic direction, and are willing to do that through violence and use of weapons.”
Police intelligence unit PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjenesete) has stepped up efforts against right-extremism, not least since 77 people were killed in a bombing and massacre carried out by right-wing extremist in Norway on July 22, 2011. Last week’s raids uncovered not only drugs but several automatic weapons that featured stickers carrying the group’s name.
Police believe the group is run by the Swedish right-wing group Svenska Motståndsrörelsen, and the drugs found may cause problems for the Norwegian neo-Nazis since the Swedes profess zero tolerance for narcotics. Drug possession can lead to the Norwegian group being kicked out of the Swedish organization.
The leader of the Norwegian group, Haakon Eihwaz Forwald, claimed that his organization also has zero tolerance for drugs, and that the weapons found “are only used for self-defense.” One person was charged in connection with the weapons seizure, while police said they had “serious discussions” about the danger of neo-Nazism with four other members of the group after the raid.
newsinenglish.no staff
