A suspect allegedly involved in sending incendiary devices to Germany and the UK has been detained in Lithuania, German media has reported. Lithuanian authorities have refused to comment, quoting national security.
Der Spiegel reported earlier this week on the arrest, saying that it was still unclear who ordered the attacks.
Germany’s domestic intelligence chief Thomas Haldenwang disclosed on Monday that a parcel burst into flames on the ground at Leipzig Airport in July before it could be loaded onto a DHL cargo plane.
Another similar incident occurred in July at a DHL warehouse near Birmingham, central England. The fire was extinguished by warehouse staff and firefighters. No injuries were reported in either incident.
A source has told LRT.lt that household appliances with incendiary devices were shipped from Lithuania to the United Kingdom and Germany via DHL.
Haldenwang blamed the Leipzig incident on “Russian espionage and sabotage”, which he said is increasing in an attempt to create chaos in the countries that support Ukraine.
Meanwhile, The Guardian has reported that UK anti-terrorism police are investigating whether Russian spies were involved in sending the device that caught fire in Birmingham.
According to the newspaper, no suspects have been arrested in connection with this incident.
Elena Martinonienė, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office, told BNS on Friday that she had no information on the case that could be made public.
“Prosecutor Artūras Urbelis has said that the investigation is ongoing and involves international cooperation,” she noted.
Martinonienė declined to provide any further details about the investigation.
“This is related to national security so no information can be disclosed,” she said.
The State Security Department (VSD) did not comment further on the investigation either, saying that the probe is under the supervision of the General Prosecutor’s Office, which has “exclusive discretion” to decide whether or not to provide information about it.
