German extremists are showing an interest in equipment normally used by police and the GSG9, an elite anti-terrorism unit of the German police, according to a report from the German television station ARD.

Militant right-wing extremists Thorsten Heise and Ralph Tegethoff are believed to be responsible for the recent purchases. The gear, stripped of police insignia, is being offered on a mail-order Web site belonging to Heise, the online edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Monday.

Highest bidder

The men acquired the equipment through Vebeg, a German company which has contracts with the armed forces and other government agencies to dispose of unneeded and old inventory. The equipment was bought at auction.

Vebeg does not sell weapons, but does sell a wide range of police clothing and protective gear such as helmets and bullet-proof vests.

"We can't examine the political convictions of everyone who buys from us," Vebeg managing director Uwe Schade was quoted by sueddeutsche.de as saying. "At our auctions people buy what they want."

Politicians concerned

Green Party politician Hans-Christian Ströbele said the company needed to ensure that the material purchased would not be used for violence.

"Mr. Ströbele should tell us how we can do that," Schade said in the newspaper interview.

A former instructor of the elite German police unite confirmed to ARD that the purchases had taken place. He spoke of a "lapse" that allowed the equipment to be sold to neo-Nazis.

Dieter Wiefelspütz, interior spokesman for the Social Democratic Party, called the sale "dangerous" and "intolerable." The German Finance Ministry clarified that since the goods were being sold legally, there's no basis for an investigation.