According the witness reports of current and former Golden Dawn members, the ultra nationalist party has hidden weapons caches all over Greece. Based on the evidence submitted, the police have focused investigations in Haidari, Aspropyrgos and Nemea.
In Haidari there is an old army base with five shooting ranges, which are used by about 20 shooting clubs from Athens and Piraeus. One witness claimed that Golden Dawn members would train nearby during the shooting range’s working hours, in order to avoid drawing the attention of the police. While To Vima reporters visited the area and found that there was ample space to hide, police officials believe that Golden Dawn’s training camps would likely be noticed by the shoot clubs or hikers.
Another witness reported that “on Patelis orders we moved clubs, shields, pistols, flare guns, flares and fireworks to a warehouse in Aspropyrgos”. The warehouse is believed to be in the Ammo Soureza area of Aspropyrgos, near the 4th exit of the Attiki Odo highway. In the area there are about 10 guarded warehouses owned by large companies, as well as 5-6 smaller dwellings that could be used for storage. The police are currently determining the ownership of each property before searching the premises.
A third witness claimed that “Golden Dawn has hidden weapons in two monasteries in ancient Kleones” for which Golden Dawn’s locally-elected MP Stathis Boukouras intervened. The police searched two abandoned monasteries and found nothing, however they believe that they might have been transferred elsewhere. Boukouras hails from Kleones and reportedly threatened the mayor of Nemea, after Golden Dawn’s offices reopened in 2012. The offices initially shut down after the 2012 elections due to allegations of fraud and non-payment of rent.
