Kiwi soldier questioned after attacks

A New Zealand soldier with farright links was questioned by police after the March 15 terror attacks, a source says.

The soldier, who was taken into military custody on Friday, is a 27-year-old man working at the Linton Military Camp.

The man has deep connections with New Zealand’s underground far-right movement. He was due to leave the country in the coming weeks to spend Christmas in Russia.

A source close to the family confirmed he had been arrested. ‘‘We don’t know the exact charges they are holding him on,’’ the source said. ‘‘All we know is that they [police and military] closed the [Linton] base down on Friday and searched his house.’’ The source understood an antique explosive dating back to World War I had been found, but was unsure if it related to the charges.

The source said the 27-yearold’s family were told of his arrest in the early-hours of yesterday and have since learned about his intense involvement in far-right groups. ‘‘The family just found out today that he was questioned after the March terror attacks because of his right-wing views,’’ the source said.

‘‘He was also supposed to go to Russia for Christmas and maybe it was a red-flag for the military and police?

‘‘He has been wanting to go to Russia for years and have a white Christmas. Him and his girlfriend were going.’’

The source said the family, who had no affiliation with farright groups, were horrified by what had happened.

Defence Minister Ron Mark said he had been briefed, but would not comment on ‘‘ongoing operations’’. A spokesman for the Defence Force said police conducted a search warrant at the housing area of Linton Military Camp on Friday. A soldier was taken into custody.

The arrested soldier’s connection to far-rights groups first became apparent last week, when members of the group Wargus Christi began talking about a member being arrested in a chatroom on Telegram.

‘‘One of our boys has been arrested for reasons still unknown,’’ a message from the Wargus Christi group read.

A member of the group said as the soldier was in a military prison, he could not be visited.

Wargus Christi, on its public Facebook page created in September, promotes Christian extremist content, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and far-right internet memes.

The soldier has also been connected to the Dominion Movement, a white nationalist group which closed down abruptly after March 15.