Spanish police arrest three suspected members of neo-Nazi terror group

Spanish police have arrested three suspected members of a Neo-Nazi terrorist organisation proscribed by the UK.

Armed officers dismantled the cell in a series of raids in the city of Castellon on Spain’s eastern coast.

The terror group, known as “The Base”, a rough English translation of al-Qaeda, was outlawed by Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, in 2021.

It seeks to violently overthrow Western governments and replace them with white ethno-states.

Rinaldo Nazzaro, its founder, is an American former defence contractor who worked with US special forces in the Middle East.

Nazzaro, 52, has lived in Russia for the past eight years and in April called for his members to carry out assassinations on key military and political figures in Ukraine.

Officers from Spain’s national police force discovered an arsenal of weapons including submachine guns, handguns, ammunition, silencers, knives, machetes and a spear inside properties during the raids.

Weapons found during the raids Credit: Spanish National Police

Body armour, bundles of €50 notes, a drone, rope, handcuffs, helmets, and camouflage clothing were also found.

Officers seized translated hardbacks of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in Spanish and Catalan, along with a black and white banner with the words “F--- You Israel” emblazoned on it.

A T-shirt with an image of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, in custody, with the words “White Boy Summer” – a popular meme co-opted by white supremacist circles online – was also found.

Bodycam footage from the raids show officers handcuffing the suspects, holding up select weapons for inspection to the camera and later walking out with cardboard boxes of evidence.

Police found a T-shirt with an image of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski Credit: Spanish National Police/AFP via Getty

The three suspects, whose ages and nationalities have not been disclosed, were “highly radicalised” and ready to carry out attacks on behalf of the organisation.

A spokesman for Spain’s national police said: “They had already carried out tactical training sessions using paramilitary material and techniques.

“In the last few months they had hardened their radical rhetoric and openly demonstrated the fact they were ready to carry out selective attacks for their cause.

“The alleged leader of the Spanish cell was in direct contact with the founder of The Base who a month ago had called for the consolidation of the international cells and the execution of selective attacks with the aim of collapsing Western democratic institutions.”

Officers also found copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in Spanish and Catalan Credit: Handout/Spanish National Police/AFP via Getty

The group used social media to recruit new militants and boast of their ideology.

Detectives are investigating the trio on suspicion of membership of a terrorist organisation, indoctrination and training with terrorist aims, and unlawful possession of weapons.

The Base was founded in 2018 and members have been located and arrested in the US, the Netherlands, Italy and Ukraine.

According to analysis by The George Washington University, each cell is meant to operate independently from one another so as not to draw the attention of law enforcement and intelligence services.

Despite being the subject of an FBI investigation, no charges have been made against Nazarro.