A PAIR of British doomsday preppers and their accomplice are facing up to five years in jail on nuclear charges after police discovered a deadly cache of bomb-making equipment.
The two Briton “conspiracy theorists” were arrested alongside an Austrian citizen earlier this year in Ruden, Austria, after a large arsenal was discovered in their home.
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Along with up to 70 guns, cops found tens of thousands of rounds of ammo, and possible explosives in the house in the small village in southern Austria, close to the border with Slovenia.
Police were tipped off after a resident of the house called for help during a medical emergency.
When medics saw the build up of weapons, they quickly notified police and the trio were arrested.
All three are charged with conspiring to use “a nuclear fuel, a radioactive substance, an explosive” to create bombs, according to local media.
The “bombs” found in the property were not nuclear, but prosecutors believe the group were planning a “radioactive attack”.
The charges the Britons face include “conspiring to commit crimes using nuclear energy, ionising radiation or explosives”.
Both Brits and their 29-year-old accomplice are said to be cult followers who were preparing for the end of the world.
Inside the home police discovered components of lethal pipe bombs, including three pounds of TNT, 18 pounds of black powder, ball bearings and steel tubing.
The deadly concoction, which included sulphuric acid, was enough to create nine powerful DIY bombs.
Police also found 20 detonators and a mobile phone which prosecutors believe would have been used as a trigger.
Powerful hunting rifles, military assault rifles, shotguns, handguns and boxes of ammunition were also found at the property.
The three accused will stand trial at Klagenfurt District Court on Tuesday.
Public Prosecutor’s spokesperson Tina Frimmel-Hesse said: “Such cases are very rare. The quantity was sufficient to produce eight pipe bombs with a devastating effect.”
Frimmel-Hesse added that the offenders refused to reveal what they had planned to do with the explosives when questioned.
A fourth accomplice – supposedly a 68-year-old Austrian national – remains at large, say police.
The three men reportedly lived a reclusive life and had no interest in talking to their neighbours.
However, one local said: “The house they acquired some years ago is extremely dilapidated.
“The region is very quiet and rural, not a lot is going on there.
“Their neighbours don’t know anything about the three men. It has to be seen whether they were part of some conspiracy network or just weird hermits.”
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Sarah Hooper
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