Vilnius
Reuters
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Detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024 have been organized and supervised by Russian residents with ties to Russian navy intelligence, Lithuania’s common prosecution service and prison police stated on Wednesday.
Security officers in Lithuania stated final yr the 4 parcels have been a part of a take a look at run for a Russian plot to set off explosions on cargo flights to the United States.
A joint assertion by the 2 Lithuanian companies stated the parcels had contained explosive gadgets that have been set off by digital timers hidden in vibrating therapeutic massage pillows.
It recognized Ukrainian citizen Daniil Gromov, whose Russian paperwork have been issued below the identify of Jaroslav Mikhailov, and Lithuanian-Russian citizen Tomas Dovgan Stabacinskas as coordinators of the scheme.
The similar two males organized a fireplace at an IKEA retailer in Vilnius in 2024, it stated.
“It was determined that the aforementioned individuals acted in an organized manner, adhering to a very strict conspiracy, dividing individual tasks,” the assertion learn.
There was no rapid response from Russia to the assertion. Last yr, Russia denied orchestrating the IKEA hearth and recurrently dismisses Western accusations of malign exercise as evidence of Russophobia.
Governments and intelligence businesses in Europe have beforehand pointed to Moscow because the seemingly supply of a collection of fires and acts of sabotage geared toward destabilizing allies of Ukraine.
The Lithuanian assertion stated six kilograms of explosives had been discovered throughout its investigation and that 15 folks had been charged, together with residents of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine.
International search warrants have been issued for 3 males – Gromov, Stabacinskas and Russian citizen Andrej Baburov.
The assertion stated 4 parcels with “self-made, explosive-incendiary charges” had been mailed from Vilnius on July 19, 2024.
One of them, despatched with DHL, caught hearth at Leipzig airport in jap Germany the following day, shortly earlier than it was because of be loaded onto a DHL airplane certain for Britain.
A second parcel exploded on July 21 on a DPD truck because it was crossing Poland, whereas the third detonated in a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, England, on July 22. The fourth parcel, which was additionally being transported on a DPD truck in Poland, didn’t ignite because of a malfunction.
The organizers recruited people for the tasks via the Telegram messaging app and paid them in cryptocurrency, the assertion stated.