Namibia – Germany Says Plane Bomb Was Security Test

Germany Says Plane Bomb Was Security Test

Germany’s interior minister has revealed that a suspicious package found at an airport in Namibia was part of an American security test.

A German police officer patrols Frankfurt airport while the country remains on high alert.

Thomas de Maiziere said the fake bomb was designed by a US firm to monitor the effectiveness of airport security.

The detonator, clock and batteries were left in a suitcase to be loaded onto an LTU/Air Berlin flight to Munich on Wednesday.

Namibian police conducting routine checks siezed the luggage shortly before it was put on a plane at the international airport in Windhoek.

Germany’s Federal Crime Office, the BKA, said an X-ray of the suitcase revealed batteries wired to a “detonator and a ticking clock”.

No explosives were found in the suitcase and at no time was there any danger to passengers

German interior minister Thomas de Maziere

After examining the case they concluded it was a “real test suitcase” designed by a firm that produces alarm and detection systems.

Sky News security editor Sam Kiley said at the time he felt the discovery was unusual because detonators are usually the hardest things for terrorist groups to find.

He said explosives were easier to locate – particularly in Namibia, due to the country’s mining industry.

Passengers and all luggage were re-checked before the delayed plane was cleared to take off and the flight arrived in Munich on Wednesday night.

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