Four arrested in Poland over DHL parcel explosive plot

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://theloadstar.com/four-arrested-i ... sive-plot/

Poland has arrested four people on allegations of endangering DHL freighters and crew, as concerns deepen over alleged Russian efforts to plant explosive in EU supply chains.

News of the arrests began filtering out yesterday (27 October), with reports noting a further two suspects remained at large amidst international search efforts, as Poland openly accused Russian security services of being behind the activity, closing Russia’s consulate in Poznan.

A spokesperson for DHL declined to comment on the arrests, telling The Loadstar “we don’t comment on open investigations”.

Citing investigators’ findings, Cargo Forwarder noted the suspects belong to a group which have been sending packages containing dangerous materials including hidden explosives to fake recipients in not only the EU but Canada, the UK and the US.

It further claimed the packages had been prepared in such a way as to ignite autonomously or explode while airborne or being trucked.

The arrests follow warnings from German officials to European logistics companies in September to be on the lookout for “unconventional incendiary devices” being sent via freight after DHL packages caught fire at hubs in Birmingham and Leipzig in July.

Responding, DHL said it was aware of the “two recent incidents involving shipments in our network,” adding that it was “taking mitigation risks to secure its network, staff and assets”.

But in naming Russian state involvement in the attacks, Poland has made public what many have suspected for months, with all parcels involved having purportedly been sent from Baltic countries, with one source citing Lithuania as an origin.

Further to this, a source told The Loadstar that while the incidents in DHL’s network had made the headlines, it was not being singled out.

Instead, it has been alleged that the perpetrators are sending the parcels through a multitude of different couriers in an effort to disguise their tracks, with the levels of explosives within each package being kept markedly low so as to leave them hard to detect.

Details of the suspects’ backgrounds, including nationality, have not been made public but the Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement, accusing the west of spreading “conspiracies”.

Kremlin foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told state-owned RIA Novosti news agency Poland’s accusation and decision to close the consulate was “another hostile step” that she promised would provoke “a painful response”.