Group using self-igniting parcels for terrorist attacks is disrupted, detectives identify Russian involvement

An international police investigation has identified suspected Russian involvement in a series of incidents targeting air freight across Europe.

The UK’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday (March 6) that detectives from Lithuania, Poland, the UK, Germany and The Netherlands worked together to share investigative material relating to several fires involving cargo, which took place across Europe. The team was established through Eurojust – the European Union for Criminal Justice.

The cooperative efforts led to the identification of 22 suspects in Lithuania and Poland who are suspected of having been working on behalf of the military-intelligence service of the Russian Federation, Eurojust said, adding that two cases have now been sent to courts in Lithuania and Poland, with trials expected to happen later in the year.

“In July 2024, four parcels were sent from Lithuania to addresses in the United Kingdom and Poland. One of the parcels, that was sent through a sorting centre in Germany, caught fire at Leipzig airport, shortly before it was loaded onto an aircraft,” Eurojust said Friday. “Another parcel caught fire while in a warehouse in the UK. In Poland, one package caught fire in a truck. The second parcel was seized by authorities while it was still intact, enabling the analysis of the device and its damage potential. The investigation also identified two ‘test packages’ that had been sent to the United States and Canada, as well as two parcels in Amsterdam intended for the same destinations. These are also suspected to have been test packages.”

Prospective perpetrators were recruited and given instructions through an online messaging service. The tasks were divided among several alleged perpetrators and payments for the acts were often made in cryptocurrencies. “The suspected perpetrators were recruited from Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine and were often in a vulnerable socio-economic situation,” Eurojust said. “It is suspected that the acts carried out by these suspects were executed on behalf of the military-intelligence service of the Russian Federation.” The Metropolitan Police also said that enquiries “have led detectives to believe that Russian military intelligence may be involved”.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK said recently that there has been increasing demands for police forces relating to the activity of foreign states.