12 hours ago
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Missing anti-tank mines found at Ikea warehouse
A shipment of
anti-tank mines
was accidentally delivered to an
Ikea
warehouse facility in Poland due to a logistical error in the transportation of military ordnance. The misdirected consignment of mines created an unexpected situation at the retail chain's storage facility.
The incident occurred between July 4 and 7 with the discovery made over a week later, only came to light recently as four Polish soldiers faces prosecution, according to Metro UK.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who serves as Poland's defence minister, confirmed that all necessary measures were implemented following the incident. Speaking to private radio RMF onFriday, he said, "Civilian supervision played a key role in this matter."
He outlined the sequence of actions taken, including 'First, security procedures, explanatory procedures, corrective actions related to preparation, training, sending appropriate inspections and drawing personnel conclusions.'
Railway transportation was used to move military cargo from
Hajnowka
, an eastern town situated near the Belarusian border, to a munitions storage facility in Mosty village in the western region. During the delivery process, the shipment of 240 mines was not fully unloaded at its actual destination, resulting in the misplacement of numerous explosive devices. The budget furniture retailer's staff alerted authorities, prompting a
military retrieval
, as reported by Metro UK.
The Four soldiers face potential five-year prison sentences for neglect of duty. “The suspects are four soldiers, the case concerns
neglect of duty
regarding the unloading of a transport of munitions… (they face) up to five years of imprisonment. None of the suspects have pleaded guilty,” said Lukasz Wawrzyniak, spokesperson for the Poznan district prosecutor’s office.
General Artur Kępczynski was dismissed due to the incident, according to Poland’s ministry of defence. Malgorzata Dobies-Turulska, Ikea Industry Poland CEO, confirmed the mines' arrival at the Ikea Industry Orla warehouse and subsequent military police retrieval. “The box was collected by the military police on the same day. Cooperation with the military police went very smoothly,” she said.
