An apparent firebomb attack at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, linked to Russian-backed saboteurs, was believed to be a trial run for a US attack, according to Polish officials.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed four arrests after parcels “containing explosives” were allegedly sent via courier companies to countries including the UK.
Counter-terror police in the UK are already investigating whether Russia had any involvement after a suspicious package caught fire at a DHL warehouse in Minworth in July.
Authorities in Germany are also examining several fires thought to have been caused by incendiary devices hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig.
Polish Prosecutor Katarzyna Calow-Jaszewska said the latest arrests were related to parcels “which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport” to EU countries and the UK.
She said the group’s goal was allegedly “to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada”.
More on Birmingham
Related Topics:
She added that four people involved in “sabotage” and “of an international nature were detained”.
On Monday, Counter Terrorism Policing said the arrests reported by Polish authorities were not carried out as part of its investigation.
Advertisement
It coincides with reports by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the devices were “electric massagers implanted with a magnesium-based flammable substance” and “part of a wider Russian plot”.
Russia has denied involvement. A Kremlin spokesperson told the US newspaper the claims were “traditional unsubstantiated insinuations from the media”.
A suspicious fire took hold in July at a DHL warehouse in the UK after a package arrived by air, but further details about the plane and its flight path are unknown.
Last month British police said their investigation was “being led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command with support from colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands”.
A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria.
Police say they were called at 4.58pm to reports of a collision involving a BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road, in Kendal.
Cumbria Police say one child died, while the second is being treated by paramedics.
A man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “Specialist investigators are at the scene and the area has been cordoned off as initial investigation enquiries take place.”
The force said the incident was not believed to be terror-related. Immediate family members of both children have been informed, it added.
In a post on its Facebook page, the club said it was “deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred today at Kendal Rugby Club.”
The post, attributed to club chairman Dr Stephen Green, continued: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends and we kindly ask for privacy for all involved at this difficult time.”
The club and its facilities are now temporarily closed while it cooperates “fully” with authorities, it added.
Tim Farron MP, whose constituency includes Kendal, posted on X: “This is devastating, utterly heartbreaking news. I’m praying for the children and for their families and friends.
“Our community in Kendal is stunned and in mourning.”
A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.
Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.
Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences
He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:16
Moment police arrest student guilty of rape
The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Image: The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police
The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.
Image: A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.
The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.
Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.
“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.
“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.
“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”
A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.
James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.
The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.
In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.
Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.
They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.
Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.
Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.
It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.
Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.