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¹ https://policija.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/teismui-perduodamas-asmuo-kaltinamas-prekybos-centro-padegimu-ir-dar-vieno-teroristinio-akto-planavimu/

   https://www.prokuraturos.lt/lt/teismui-perduodamas-asmuo-kaltinamas-prekybos-centro-padegimu-ir-dar-vieno-teroristinio-akto-planavimu-with-english-translation/11117

A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ORGANIZED AND PLANNED TO CARRY OUT FOUR HYBRID-MOTIVATED TERRORIST ATTACKS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AND DETAINED

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, together with the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, has identified a group of individuals who organized and planned to carry out four terrorist attacks in different European countries.

In the course of the pre-trial investigation, conducted on suspicion of very serious crimes – the activities of an organized terrorist group and terrorist acts – it was established that on 19 July 2024, a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, A. Š. (b. 1973), acting together with accomplices, used the international parcel delivery and transportation services of DHL and DPD to send four parcels containing improvised explosive-incendiary devices from Vilnius to various European countries.

Two of these parcels were addressed and dispatched by DHL cargo aircraft to the United Kingdom, while the other two were addressed and transported by DPD trucks to Poland.

Chronology of subsequent events:

• On 20 July 2024, at 05:45 a.m., the first parcel detonated and ignited at Leipzig Airport (Germany), triggered by a pre-programmed electronic timer, just before the cargo was to be loaded onto a connecting DHL cargo flight (Vilnius–Leipzig–United Kingdom).

• On 21 July 2024, at 02:15 a.m., the second parcel detonated and ignited in a DPD truck travelling through Poland.

• On 22 July 2024, at 03:36 a.m., the third parcel detonated and ignited at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

• The fourth parcel, transported by DPD by road in Poland, failed to detonate due to a technical malfunction in the triggering device.

The investigation established that the improvised explosive-incendiary devices, designed for a powerful incendiary effect, were operated by electronic timers concealed in massage (vibration) cushions. Additional mixtures of flammable substances intended to intensify the incendiary effect were hidden in tubes of hygiene and cosmetic products. The devices contained thermite – a material used for both industrial and military purposes – which is characterized by an extremely high combustion temperature.

Given the significance of the investigation and the criminal objectives – the execution of terrorist attacks in different countries in an extremely dangerous manner, potentially causing very serious and irreversible consequences – a Joint Investigation Team was established under Eurojust. This international team involves close cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence authorities of Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia, the United States, and Canada.

The pre-trial investigation revealed that the crimes were organized and coordinated by citizens of the Russian Federation with links to and connections with the military intelligence services of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that several coordinators of these crimes are also directly linked to the attempted terrorist attack in Vilnius on 9 May 2024, when the IKEA shopping centre was set on fire [1]. These individuals include Ukrainian citizen Daniil Gromov (b. 1988), who also uses the identity of Russian citizen Jaroslav Mikhailov (b. 1988), and Tomas Dovgan Stabačinskas (b. 1971), a dual citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and the Russian Federation.

The investigation further established that, in organizing and preparing for the attacks, other citizens of Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine were recruited for separate tasks. They were approached through acquaintances, recruited and contacted via the Telegram application, and offered payment in cryptocurrency.

The suspects operated in an organized manner, maintaining strict secrecy and compartmentalizing tasks such as transporting parcels and incendiary materials, transferring them to others, hiding them in prepared caches or other locations, activating the incendiary devices, and carrying out other assignments, most often by unrelated individuals or groups.

More than 30 searches were carried out in Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia.

During complex investigative actions, explosives hidden in canned food containers and prepared for use, as well as their detonators, were seized. Some of the devices were manufactured to intensify the blast effect in a specific direction. Hexogen (RDX) was used in the production of some explosives. The total explosive power of the devices seized from illegal circulation exceeded 6 kg TNT equivalent. According to available data, it is suspected that these devices were intended for use in the planning and execution of other terrorist attacks.

At this stage of the investigation, 15 suspects – citizens of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia, and Ukraine – have been charged with organizing and committing the aforementioned crimes.

Three suspects have been placed on international wanted lists:

• Andrej BABUROV (b. 1 January 1962), citizen of the Russian Federation

• Tomas DOVGAN STABAČINSKAS (b. 14 May 1971), citizen of Lithuania and the Russian Federation

• Daniil GROMOV / Jaroslav MIKHAILOV (b. 5 February 1988), citizen of Ukraine / citizen of the Russian Federation

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted into very serious criminal offences under Article 249¹(3) and (4) “Establishment and Activities of a Terrorist or Organized Terrorist Group” and Article 250(1) and (2) “Terrorist Act” of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The investigation is supervised by a prosecutor from the Department for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

For these crimes, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania provides for a penalty of imprisonment ranging from 5 years to life under Article 249¹(3) and (4), and imprisonment of up to 10 years under Article 250(1) and (2).

In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, a person shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law and by a final court judgment.

Joint statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau