Attack on drone factory in Slovakia thwarted – arrests in Hamburg and Bratislava
Three men are suspected of planning an arson attack on a drone works near the Ukrainian border. One was arrested in Hamburg.
Napalm and operational plan secured: trio wanted to set drone works alight in Slovakia
BILD reports that investigators from Germany and Slovakia moved in a coordinated operation on Tuesday against three men who are suspected of planning an arson attack on a drone complex in Slovakia near the border with Ukraine.
German investigators arrested a 26-year-old Latvian man in Hamburg. At the same time, a Slovak special unit arrested two suspected accomplices in Slovakia – another Latvian and a Ukrainian citizen.
According to Slovak police, larger quantities of an incendiary mixture made of petrol and polystyrene, commonly referred to as napalm, were seized during the arrests. Officers also found a hand-drawn operational plan, mobile phones, tools and an action camera.
According to the authorities, the planned attack could have caused a major fire at the unmanned aircraft systems factory. At the time the attack was to take place, approximately 70 employees were in the building according to initial findings. The authorities estimate potential material damage at several tens of millions of euros.
The three men are accused of preparing the attack as joint perpetrators "on the orders of other persons". The identities of the suspected instigators remain unknown.
The 26-year-old arrested in Hamburg was apprehended on the basis of a European arrest warrant. Hamburg's chief prosecutor Melina Trautmann told BILD: "The accused is currently in custody in Hamburg." The general prosecutor's office intends to apply to the Hamburg Regional Court of Appeal for a remand warrant. According to reports, the man is being held in solitary confinement in Hamburg's remand prison.
The case is part of a series of warnings from Western intelligence services about sabotage and covert attacks against NATO states. CIA chief John Ratcliffe visited Moscow this week and explicitly warned Russia against "escalating actions against the Baltic states," according to Politico.
Source: BILD