Overview

• Police arrested two Turkish nationals in a B&B along the procession route after seizing a submachine gun, a pistol and 9mm ammunition that were reportedly ready to use.
• The centuries‑old procession went ahead under exceptional security with NOCS units, snipers and bomb dogs deployed, street lighting kept on for part of the route and senior officials, including Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, placed in secure locations.
• Follow‑up operations extended into nearby Montefiascone, where five additional Turkish nationals linked by the same lodging registration were identified and detained for checks, and at least one suspected associate remains sought.
• Investigators have opened a formal inquiry with arms trafficking as the lead accusation, while the terrorism hypothesis remains unconfirmed and under evaluation by the Viterbo prosecutor’s office.
• Authorities are testing possible connections to a Turkish organized‑crime network associated with Barış Boyun, with scenarios under examination that include a trafficking cell or a plan to assist an incarcerated figure, as checkpoints and forensic analyses continue.