COUNTER-terrorism police are investigating whether Russian spies planted a bomb on a plane to Britain, a report claims.
The package later caught fire while at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham with the blaze dealt to by local fire services.
Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, said Russia and Iran want to cause havoc in the UK[/caption]
Cops are investigating whether Russia is behind the device, the Guardian claims[/caption]
Cops are now investigating whether Russia was behind the July fire after the Guardian and German broadcasters investigated.
A Metropolitan police counter-terrorism spokesperson told paper: “We can confirm that officers from counter-terrorism policing are investigating an incident at a commercial premises in Midpoint Way, Minworth.
“On Monday 22 July, a package at the location caught alight. It was dealt with by staff and the local fire brigade at the time and there were no reports of any injuries or significant damage caused.”
London’s Met is leading the investigation with help from specialist officers in the West Midlands force.
The Guardian reported that it is not known whether the device arrived via passenger plane or cargo plane and where it was destined for.
A similar situation had happened in Leipzig, Germany, recently with investigators now checking whether the two are linked.
The device started burning as it was being loaded onto a plane after it had come from Lithuania.
The head of the German domestic intelligence agency said if it had exploded on the plane it could have brought it down.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum warned last week Russia and Iran are on a “sustained mission to generate mayhem” in the UK’s streets.
His officers, he said, had caught dozens of plotters planning mass murder using bombs and guns.
It also comes after a “Russian spy” was charged with masterminding an arson attack – in the first Wagner Group-led plot on British soil.
Dylan Earl was charged under the National Security Act 2023, which was brought in last year to catch those working secretly for hostile states in the UK.
Four other men, Paul English, Nii Mensah, Jake Reeves and Dmitrijus Paulauska have also been charged.
Dylan Earl is accused of masterminding an arson attack on an Ukrainian aid centre in London[/caption]
