Fake cosmetics, massage pillows, sex toys, crude homemade explosives, a Russian operative called “Warrior,” and the code word “Mary” — these are key elements of a suspected Russian sabotage plot that triggered parcel explosions at courier depots in Britain, Germany, and Poland last summer, according to a source familiar with the Polish investigation.
The pillows, packed into the parcels with the cosmetics and sex toys, contained hidden homemade incendiary devices made of a cocktail of chemicals including highly reactive magnesium, according to the person familiar with the case who provided the most granular account yet of the alleged plot.
Pre-Timed Detonators
The chemicals were ignited by pre-timed detonators adapted from cheap Chinese electronic gadgets used to track items like lost keys, with the effect enhanced by the tubes of what looked like cosmetics but in fact contained a gel made of flammable compounds including nitromethane, according to the source.
“The proceedings in this case concern criminal activities inspired by Russia’s GRU,” this person said, referring to Moscow’s foreign military intelligence agency.
Reuters is reporting the details of the investigation for the first time, drawing on the account provided by the source close to the Polish case as well as interviews with more than a dozen European security officials. The findings provide a rare insight into how Russian sabotage plots play out on the ground.
‘Hybrid War’
European security chiefs made the parcel fires public in October, describing them as part of a “hybrid war” being waged by Russia to destabilise the functioning of countries that support Ukraine, involving tactics like arson and cyberattacks.
They said the parcels – which caught alight in warehouses, causing fires but not hurting anyone – were a dry run for a future Russian plot to detonate similar packages in midair on cargo flights to the United States and Canada.
“With the war in Ukraine, these attacks have intensified, they became more frequent, more assertive,” said Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s deputy prime minister and foreign secretary until early last year and now distinguished policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
“Of course, this poses a risk to people, to citizens across the European Union.”
Russia Rejects Allegations
The Kremlin rejected the accusation of Russia having a hand in the fires. “We know nothing about it,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. “We do not rule out that this is just more fake news or a manifestation of blind Russophobia.”
The Kremlin said European allegations of a Russian sabotage or hybrid campaign were wholly unsubstantiated.
The GRU didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The package detonations took place on July 19, 20 and 21 in the British city of Birmingham, Leipzig in Germany and near the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Instructions Via Telegram
Two EU security officials with knowledge of alleged attacks, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the Polish cell was typical of Russian intelligence’s methods. Russian handlers often recruit local criminals to carry out their plans, the officials added, giving them basic instructions via Telegram and paying each operative up to a few thousand euros per job.
The ingredients and igniters detailed in the case are widely available in stores selling products like fertiliser inputs and pyrotechnics, said Jaroslaw Stelmach, a former bomb-disposal specialist who runs the Safety Project, a consultancy that advises on the security of public buildings among other things.
While the small, crude devices might only be able to cause a small fire, they could be difficult to detect, he told Reuters. “This is an extremely cheap, very effective, highly anonymous method of producing explosive devices,” he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)
