Police probe bomb packages sent to food firms
February 19, 2021
Police are seeking suspects and a motive in a case that saw two packages addressed to grocery businesses exploding — with a third being defused just in time.
"A connection is to be assumed between these three parcels," Baden-Württemberg's state police chief Stefanie Hinz said in Stuttgart on Friday.
An employee at a drinks producer in the southwestern town of Eppelheim suffered an acoustic shock when he opened one of the packages on Tuesday. The parcel contained an explosive device.
An explosive package also arrived at Lidl headquarters in the town in Neckarsulm, some 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) southeast of Eppelheim. Three people were injured when it was opened — two with minor injuries but one more seriously hurt.
Just hours later officers defused another package at an airport in Munich, addressed to a grocery business in the southern state of Bavaria. A source told the DPA news agency that the latter package had been addressed to baby food manufacturer Hipp.
Criminal police for the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Eppelheim and Neckarsulm are located, said a special task force had been set up.
The investigation will involve more than 100 officers, with the public prosecutor's office in Heidelberg assuming central responsibility.
rc/sms (AFP, dpa)