Russian spies accused of using ‘secret device’ to start fire in UK warehouse

Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Russian spies planted an incendiary device on a plane which later caused a warehouse fire in Birmingham.

The parcel reportedly caught aflame on July 22 while in storage at a DHL warehouse in Minworth after being transported by air. It is not known how volatile the package was, but the blaze was said to be severe enough to cause serious damage to a plane if it ignited in the air, the Guardian reports.

Nobody was injured during the outbreak at the Minworth factory, and the fire was reportedly dealt with by staff members and local firefighters.

But the incident raised suspicion after it was revealed a near-identical fire occurred at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig, Germany, with another suspect package bound for a flight thought to be the source of the blaze.

The device started burning in Leipzig just as it was about to be loaded onto a cargo plane, and was only discovered in time after the flight was delayed.

If the plane had taken off on time, it would have ignited mid-air and ‘have resulted in a crash’, said Thomas Haldenwang, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, to parliament on Monday.

The two incidents follow a warning from MI5 chief Ken Mcallum last week that Russian intelligence operatives were on ‘a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we’ve seen arson, sabotage and more’.

In March, a warehouse in east London belonging to a company linked to Ukraine caught fire in a suspected arson attack. Seven men were charged with the attack, which is believed to be linked to Russia.

A shopping centre in Warsaw was also the subject of an arson attack in May, which Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said was ‘quite likely’ the work of Russian saboteurs.

But most seriously of all, a suspected assassination plot on Armin Papperger, the CEO of the German arms maker Rheinmetall, was foiled by US intelligence in July, in what is believed to be another Kremlin plot.

Last month, DHL said the package that started burning in Germany was originally posted from Lithuania. The company said it had tightened ‘security protocols and procedures’ following advice from European authorities.

Given the similarity between the Minworth fire and the one in Leipzig, counter-terrorism police are working with German authorities and have been sharing information on the case with other investigators around Europe.

A Metropolitan police counter-terrorism spokesperson told the Guardian: ‘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.’

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