Nazi-themed company owner charged with possessing objectionable material | Stuff.co.nz
The owner of a Christchurch insulation company that promotes Nazi themes has been charged with distributing objectionable material.
Stuff understands the Avonside home of company owner Phil Arps was raided by police on Tuesday.
When asked to confirm this, a police spokesman said police executed a search warrant at an Avonside address at 11am.
"A 44-year-old man was charged with distributing objectionable material. He is scheduled to appear at Christchurch District Court tomorrow."
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Beneficial Insulation owner Phil Arps' has been charged for distribution of objectionable material.
He said the matter was now before the courts so police were unable to comment further.
Calls by Stuff to Arps' phone went unanswered.
Beneficial Insulation, which Arps owns, features a number of Nazi-related themes in its name and branding.
The company's white extremist branding and Arps' racist views, which he promotes online, sparked a public outcry in the wake of the mass shooting in Christchurch that left 50 people dead with another 30 still in hospital.
Stuff has also sighted an angry email from Beneficial Insulation owner Phil Arps sent to a customer which was signed off with a false Adolf Hitler quote and featured right wing extremist views.
Beneficial Insulation's company logo is a sunwheel, or black sun, which was appropriated by Nazis.
SCREENSHOT
Beneficial Insulation vans feature Nazi symbolism.
Beneficial Insulation also charges $14.88 per metre for insulation – 14.88 is a hate symbol popular with white extremists.
The company's website www.BIIG.co.nz, is an acronym for the company's full name Beneficial Insulation Installs Guaranteed. BIIg was the name of a barracks at Auschwitz concentration camp, operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust.
The company's staff wear camouflage print uniform.
Over the weekend the Insulation Association removed Beneficial Insulation from its website when it became aware of the company.
Tradesman review website Builderscrack also removed Beneficial Insulation from its website and reported the company to police.
IAIN MCGREGOR/STUFF
Stuff has also sighted an angry email from Phil Arps which was signed off with a false Adolf Hitler quote and featured right wing extremist views.
A Builderscrack spokesman said as soon as it was made aware of Beneficial Insulation on Saturday via Twitter the company's public profile was removed and its account deactivated.
It called police about the company on Monday morning.
Builderscrack was also advising homeowners who had been in contact with Beneficial Insulation of the situation.
"There is no place for this in our society."
Beneficial Insulation's website has been taken down and, after Stuff published a story about the company on Saturday, its Facebook page was removed.
Arps, who was previously made bankrupt in 2001, sent Stuff a series statements on Saturday that did not address questions put to him. He has since stopped responding to further requests for comment.