Ukrainian Held over Berlin Gun Cache Suspected of Russian Network Ties
Details Emerge on Berlin Gun Cache and Suspected Russian Network
Background of the Arrest
FRANKFURT, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian man detained in Romania for setting up a stash of guns and ammunition near Berlin is suspected by investigators of being part of a Russian-controlled agent network, Spiegel magazine reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
Germany's interior minister said last week that German authorities were discussing the man's possible extradition from Romania.
Timeline of Events
Journey from Poland to Berlin
Spiegel cited Polish investigation files as saying that a 24-year-old Ukrainian took a bus from Poland to Berlin on October 1 last year and picked up two parcels with handguns from a roadside in the east of Berlin to then hide them in the underground depot near a lake in the capital's southeast.
Return to Poland and Arrest in Romania
According to the report, he took a bus back to Poland but was later detained in Bucharest alongside another Ukrainian on suspicion of dispatching parcels with incendiary devices with Ukrainian express delivery service Nova Post.
Suspected Russian Network Involvement
Allegations by Intelligence Services
Spiegel cited Romanian intelligence services as saying the two suspects belong to a network of saboteurs controlled by Russian state services targeting European countries.
Official Responses
Russian and German Authorities
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. German federal prosecutors declined to comment and the Polish internal security agency and the state prosecutor's office also did not immediately reply.
Statements from German Interior Minister
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said last week he could not rule out the involvement of foreign powers, describing the suspect as a "low-level agent" without knowledge of his line of command.
Dobrindt said at the time the suspect was also held for helping to prepare parcel bomb attacks.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Additional reporting by Cian Muenster and by Anna Koper; Editing by Miranda Murray and Conor Humphries)
