Who believes that Slovakia-Ireland Explosives Plant Foils Air Security (Time.com)?
Nowadays, even a stray pair of tweezers or a bottle of saline solution can make a journey through airport security an unpleasant experience. So when Irish authorities were alerted on Tuesday that a man had passed through Dublin Airport days earlier carrying high-grade plastic explosives, it’s not surprising that a large-scale security alert was triggered. The roads around the 49-year-old electrician’s apartment in Dublin were cordoned off, and bomb-disposal experts searched the premises, turning up 3 oz. of the powerful explosive material RDX. The amount was greater than what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of carrying on board Detroit-bound Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day. The man, who had returned to Ireland from his native Slovakia on Jan. 2, was promptly arrested by police and detained for questioning. Good news, right? The Irish authorities could congratulate themselves on foiling a potential terrorist threat, couldn’t they? Not quite. (See pictures of Umar Farouk Abdul
You know you’re having a bad day when three days after arriving in Dublin by air from Slovakia, the Irish police knock at your door, search through the suitcase you thought you’d emptied and find in it enough explosives to make two grenades. That’s what happened to a hapless, unidentified Slovakian electrician who fell afoul of a botched security test by the Slovakian authorities. They had planted the explosives to test air safety procedures but failed to notify their Irish counterparts promptly when their own baggage checkers missed the package. Today, Slovakia’s interior minister, Robert Kalinak, expressed “profound regret” to the Irish government for the oversight, The Associated Press reported from Dublin. The idea was to hide plastic explosives in a suitcase belonging to an unwitting passenger just to see whether it would be picked out by Slovakian airport security officials. Early reports said explosives were placed in the luggage of eight passengers, and seven were intercepted b
Time.com – Slovakian officials are trying to explain why airport security staff planted real explosives in a passenger’s bag — and then let the man board a flight to Ireland ยป Full Story on Yahoo! News Sources: http://news.yahoo.
