|
www.mirror.co.uk
By Richard Smith and Jon Clements 08/02/2007
POLICE fear a deranged driver with a grudge may have linked up with an animal rights maniac to wage a joint letter bomb terror campaign.
Three of the seven booby-trap parcels have gone to offices linked to motoring fines or charges.
Another three went to firms providing the criminal justice system with forensic or DNA services - and one of them contained the name of a jailed animal rights extremist who died on hunger strike.
Detectives say that could mean the two fanatics have got together to sharing expertise - while pursuing very different agendas.
A source said: "There are many similarities between the devices, but there are also indications that the bombs are not being sent with the same motives in mind.
"However, these investigations have been linked because we have had seven parcel bombs in just three weeks and that is an exceptionally rare event."
The latest attack came yesterday at the DVLA in Swansea-the UK's driving licence HQ.
Four workers, three women and a man, were injured when a booby-trap envelope exploded in the post room.
It was the third attack in 48 hours on a target linked to motoring.
The first three bombs arrived on January 18 at two offices in Oxfordshire and one in the West Midlands.
Each company provided forensic services - and each received an A5-size padded bag containing a crude firework-type explosive.
The letters had a similar return address. On the back of one envelope was the name Barry Horne - who died in 2001 while serving an 18-year jail sentence for a animal rights firebombing campaign.
A 40-year-old woman suffered minor injuries when one device went off at DNA testing firm Orchid Cellmark in Abingdon.
The packages delivered to Forensic Science Service headquarters in Birmingham and a company in Culham were intercepted before they could detonate.
On Saturday, the fourth bomb exploded at a house in Folkestone, Kent.
Michael Wingfield, the 53-year-old director of a security company based at the address, again suffered minor injuries. Bomb No5 went off on Monday at the central London offices of Capita, a firm that runs the capital's controversial congestion charge system.
A woman worker was taken to hospital with minor wounds to her hands and stomach.
On Tuesday, the sixth device exploded at the offices of accountancy firm Vantis in Wok ingham, Berks - again causing minor injuries to two workers.
The mail bomb had been addressed to the managing director of Speed Check Services - a speed camera firm who are one of Vantis's clients.
Yesterday's blast came just after 9am at the 20-storey DVLA.
Six of the bombs were packed with glass. They used an "unconventional" explosive designed to detonate when an electric circuit is completed as the package is opened.
In the seventh, metal had been placed near the explosive charge. Assistant Chief Constable Anton Setchell said all the devices were similar padded envelopes. He said: "They have labels fixed to them - some hand-written and some typed. They have each been addressed to various position-holders within these companies as opposed to named individuals.
"Some of these post-holders have been incorrect.
"These devices have not contained conventional explosives and although we are still awaiting forensic results the indication seems to be that they are of a small pyrotechnic nature.
"The intention clearly seems to be to cause shock and relatively minor injuries."
Detectives in Swansea were yesterday scrutinising other parcels sent to the DVLA.
Chief Superintendent Mark Mathias said: "The mailroom is a crime scene and forensic officers are making a detailed examination."
One DVLA worker said: "We were told that it was a small firework device in a jiffy bag.
"One injured woman had bandages around her eyes.
"We've been told to stay here. We're petrified."
Police said any company that receives a suspicious package should contact them immediately.
Firms involved with speed cameras or the enforcement of motoring fines and charges were yesterday stepping up their security.
A spokesman for Kidderminster based RedSpeed International, which provides a range of cameras, said: "The company is deeply shocked."
A spokesman for another firm asked for it not to be identified, but said: "We have briefed staff and warned them to be extra vigilant.
"We are aware that various aspects of our business can be controversial."
Attacks on speed cameras have been rising in recent months.
Vigilante group Motorists Against Detection or MAD claims to have "taken out" 1,000 cameras.
|
