Swedish Nuclear Plant Sealed Off - Worker Caught With Traces of TATP Explosives - 2 In Custody
May 21, 2008
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UPDATE: Sweden Police Hold Two on Nuclear Sabotage Suspicion
Swedish police detained two people on suspicion of planning sabotage against the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in the country’s southeast.
Two people are in custody, Kalmar county police spokesman Sven-Erik Karlsson said today in an interview. One of the people, a male contract welder, was caught in a security check at the plant after traces of explosives were found on a carrying bag, according to operator OKG AB. Karlsson declined to comment on the identity of the other person, also a contract employee.
Police are investigating the substance, which may have carried traces of triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, according to OKG, Karlsson said. Part of the E.ON AG-owned plant was sealed off, without disrupting operations.
OKG contacted police shortly before 8 a.m. local time after three tests showed traces of a high-explosive substance, Karlsson said. Bomb specialists from Malmoe in southern Sweden have been called in to aid the investigation.
“OKG has told us they think it is TATP, but until our bomb technicians get there and analyze the substance we don’t know for sure,” Karlsson said.
A nuclear power plant in southern Sweden was cordoned off Wednesday following the discovery of explosive materials, local media reported.
A welder was caught with the highly explosive substance TATP Wednesday morning on his way to the Oskarshamn plant, local police spokesperson Sven-Erik Karlsson said. “We understand that it isn’t something he needed for the job,” he said.
According to Karlsson, the incident did not affected the nuclear plant’s operation. The welder was questioned by police, but he couldn’t explain why he had TATP with him on his way to the plant.
An area of 300 meters in circumference around the explosive substance has been cordoned off. Police bomb technicians have been sent to the scene, but it will take a few hours to remove the substance.
Roger Bergman, a spokesperson from the Oskarshamn plant, said a building in the vicinity of the TATP has been evacuated. “At 8am (local time) we received a call from the nuclear plant at Oskarshamn. They told us one worker was stopped in the control. He had explosive material in his bags,” Sven-Erik Karlsson of the Kalmar county police said.
The company that operates the Oskarshamn plant, OKG, meanwhile said the man’s bags contained “no visible illegal substances” but routine tests at the entrance to the plant “detected traces of explosives.”
Mr Karlsson said the man, who was being interrogated by police, was a welder hired for temporary purposes, but could provide no further details on his age nor his background.
“The explosive material has been taken care of by … police and apparently it is highly explosive, probably TATP,” Mr Karlsson said.
TATP is relatively easy to make and has surfaced in a number of recent terrorism investigations, including bombings in the Middle East and the London bombings in July 2005.
This is a breaking news story and details could change. We will continue to monitor and update as more information becomes available.
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