Fifteen suspects have been charged with terrorism-related crimes in Lithuania over the purported Russian-funded explosion of parcels in Germany, Poland and the UK, prosecutors announced.
The suspects allegedly employed delivery operators DHL and DPD to send four parcels of explosives camouflaged in cosmetics containers from the Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius.
Blasts of fire erupted in Germany, Poland and the UK in July last year, while the fourth did not ignite as a result of technical failure.
Lithuanian authorities claim the plan was orchestrated by people connected to Russian military intelligence services, and earlier stated they were dry runs to sabotage flights to the US and Canada.
Russia has not yet reacted to the most recent statement, but has dismissed repeated claims by Nato nations that its intelligence services are conducting sabotage activities throughout Europe.
The parcels contained explosive devices that were detonated by electronic timers concealed in vibrating massage pillows, a joint statement from Lithuania’s criminal police and general prosecution service said.
Explosives were discovered during the investigation and 15 individuals have been indicted, including Russians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians and Ukrainians, the statement added. It is not known how many of them are under arrest.
The statement named men who are also suspected of having been responsible for an arson attack on an Ikea furniture store last year in the capital of Lithuania.
“It was established that the above-mentioned persons operated in an organized fashion, following a very rigid conspiracy, dividing up individual tasks,” the statement said.
There were fires in July last year at a container to be loaded on to a DHL cargo aircraft in the German city of Leipzig, at a transport firm near Warsaw, and at Minworth near Birmingham, UK, concerning a package that has been called an incendiary device.
Western security officials in those days informed US media that they suspected the fires constituted an organized campaign by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
