If it turns out that Russia is behind a plot involving incendiary devices that caused fires at two package depots in July, it will be evidence that Moscow aims to disrupt Western trust, a security expert said.
Two packages caught fire in July at DHL depots in England and Germany, and the way they evaded strict airport security measures and the courier company’s safety protocols has put counterterrorism experts on high alert.
The packages that caught fire at the DHL depots in Birmingham and Leipzig do not seem to have been sophisticated, but in both cases, they passed through security filters, indicating that it could be an operation by professionals. The primary suspect is the Kremlin.
Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, an organization representing the air freight industry in the U.S., described the incendiary bomb incidents as perplexing, given the suspicion of Russian state involvement, as reported by The Guardian.
"It seems that the goal is simply to disrupt the supply chain, create havoc, and scare people. They want people to lose confidence in the system," Fried said, adding that the industry has developed robust and evolving security procedures since September 11, 2001.
British counterterrorism authorities are investigating whether the Birmingham incident is linked to the one in Leipzig, amid strong suspicions that the incendiary devices were the work of Russian spies.
The package that caught fire at a DHL depot in Birmingham on July 22 appears to have traveled by plane before reaching the UK. No one was injured, and firefighters responded to the scene.
The German package started burning while being loaded onto a plane in Leipzig at the end of July, as reported by the German press, and the country's domestic intelligence chief warned that the package could have brought down an aircraft.
Incendiary devices are generally considered relatively unsophisticated compared to explosives, so their production may not have required a high level of technical knowledge. The suspicious packages found so far contained either electrical items or containers with liquids, according to German investigators.
According to security service sources cited by the British newspaper, investigators are trying to determine how the packages bypassed the security filters at airports to prevent explosives and incendiary devices from being taken onto planes.
DHL stated in a Thursday declaration that it has implemented "strict security and safety measures throughout the global network" and has worked "in full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and procedures."
German authorities issued a warning at the end of August regarding "unconventional incendiary devices" that appeared to have been sent by private individuals and ignited in several European countries. Officials said there could be further attacks in an attempt to disrupt logistics across the entire European continent.
European intelligence agencies have warned of an increasing number of fires, sabotage, and even crime plots carried out by Russian intelligence services, in an attempt to sow discord among Western supporters of Ukraine.
Last week, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned that Russia's military intelligence service GRU appears to have begun "a sustained mission to generate chaos on British and European streets" and accused the Kremlin of being involved in "increasingly reckless actions."
T.D.