Serbian prosecutors confirmed Thursday that four people have been detained as part of an investigation into an “organised group” suspected of moving explosives and drones into European Union (EU) countries.
The group, which authorities say includes three other members, is suspected of obtaining explosives and drones in Serbia before moving them to “locations planned and agreed in advance” inside bloc countries, prosecutors said in a statement.
The group was uncovered after explosives were found near a gas pipeline on the country’s northern border with Hungary in April, prosecutors said.
Magazine Der Spiegel separately reported that German investigators were examining possible links between an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig airport last month and the arrest of two men carrying drone components and explosives on the Serbian-Hungarian border on June 11.
Earlier this week, Germany imposed sanctions on Moscow, accusing it of an attempted “hybrid attack” over the drone incident in Leipzig.
The current Serbian investigation was launched June 12, but prosecutors have not connected it to the Leipzig incident and said they were cooperating with “investigative authorities of European countries”.
They have not released details or nationalities of those arrested.
In April, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the explosives could have “caused significant damage to the pipeline” which transports Russian gas into Hungary.
At the time, Kyiv rejected claims promoted by members of the previous Hungarian government that Ukraine was behind the attempt to target the pipeline.
The Balkan nation, a close Kremlin ally and one of the few European countries not to sanction Russia over the war in Ukraine, has repeatedly been identified as a base for Russian operations abroad.
A year ago, Serbian police arrested two people accused of running “combat-tactical training” for more than 150 protesters ahead of Moldova’s parliamentary elections.
Investigators said Russia was behind the scheme to train young Moldovans in Serbia in tactics to use against police during protests in Moldova — an ex-Soviet republic bordering war-torn Ukraine and the European Union.
Days later, 11 people were arrested in Serbia over hate-motivated acts in France and Germany, including defacing Jewish sites and placing pig heads near mosques.
Local media, citing court documents, later reported that the group’s “orders, instructions and funding” came from “Russian intelligence structures”.
Add Comment