Spanish police have arrested 14 members of a violent FC Barcelona ultras group and have seized a number of weapons and Nazi memorabilia including a scarf saying “Adolf Hitler was right”.

The operation, directed by a court in the city of Sabadell in the province of Barcelona, took place on 2nd November and was reported in a National Police press release yesterday (25th November).

Fourteen members of the FC Barcelona ultras supporter group Boixos Nois were arrested and charged with serious crimes against public health, exploitation of women for prostitution, illegal possession of weapons, money laundering, and other crimes.

The police described those arrested as the “most violent members” of the group, which was founded in 1981 by left-leaning supporters before its political position shifted to the far-right and fascism.

During the operation, 18 houses in Barcelona were searched, and 10 firearms, large quantities of drugs and narcotics, three homes, 27 vehicles, over EUR 300,000 (GBP 254,000) in cash, and Nazi material were seized.

The Nazi haul included, among other items, a flag of the German Reich, a portrait of Adolf Hitler, and a scarf bearing the text “Adolf Hitler was right”.

The investigation that culminated in the arrests began early last year, when investigators assumed the group must have been financing itself by committing serious crimes, such as drug trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Over the years, the group has been involved in several violent acts, the worst being the fatal stabbing by five of its members of a 20-year-old supporter of RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona’s local rival, close to Espanyol’s old ground in 1991.

The group enjoyed a close relationship with FC Barcelona until its members were banned from attending games due to their violence in 2003.

Half of the arrested suspects have entered prison while investigations continue.