Germany Issues Airfreight Security Alert
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BERLIN — German security authorities are warning of “unconventional incendiary devices” being sent via freight service providers after several incidents in which parcels sent by private individuals across Europe caught fire while in transit.
For several weeks, German authorities have been “aware of several parcel shipments that were posted by private individuals at locations in Europe and caught fire on the way to their addressees in several European countries,” according to a security notice sent by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the BfV domestic intelligence agency.
The security notice was sent to logistics and aviation companies on Aug. 28, and a copy was obtained by dpa.
The notice said that it is assumed the “unconventional incendiary devices were sent deliberately to damage freight service companies and other logistics infrastructure in Western countries.”
Russia is not mentioned in the warning from the BfV and BKA, but security sources told dpa that authorities have not ruled out a possible connection with increasing threats of Russian sabotage in Germany.
A parcel reportedly caught fire in July at the DHL logistics center in Leipzig. (DHL)
Security sources said the warning was issued after an incident at the DHL logistics center in the eastern German city of Leipzig, which acts as the company’s global airfreight hub.
A parcel sent from the Baltic States containing an incendiary device is said to have caught fire there in July. The parcel is said to have set fire to an entire freight container, which also contained other parcels, but the fire was extinguished quickly.
All of the packages of concern so far have contained electrical items and containers with liquids. The high shipping costs of the parcels were regularly “economically disproportionate to the value of the goods,” the notice said.
The Office of the Federal Prosecutor has taken charge of the investigation.
DHL Supply Chain ranks No. 14 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.
DHL told dpa: “In response to the ongoing investigations by authorities in several countries, DHL Express has taken measures in all European countries to protect its network, its employees and facilities as well as its customers’ shipments. We are aware of two recent incidents involving shipments in our network.”
The company said it is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities.
The BfV intelligence agency has repeatedly warned of Russian sabotage activities.
For example, on July 26, it notified businesses that Russian acts of sabotage had been observed across Europe since 2023 and that there were “increased indications of possible activities in Germany.”
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Last week, the NATO airbase in Geilenkirchen in Germany temporarily raised its security level due to intelligence concerning a potential Russian drone threat.
The second-highest security level was in place at the NATO base in western Germany for almost 24 hours. After nothing happened, the security precautions were reduced back to the level that had previously been in place.
According to security sources, there are growing indications that Russia is becoming increasingly brazen in its drone flights over military bases in Germany. Sites where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained are often affected.
Repeated drone flights over critical infrastructure in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein have also been attributed to Russia, sources said.
