Police in Poland have detained three people over the theft of four cases of ammunition from a train operated by US soldiers. The cases have been retrieved and the authorities have confirmed that none of the ammunition is missing.
It remains unconfirmed exactly what kind of ammunition was taken, to whom it belongs and where it was being transported. But TVN, a leading broadcaster, reports based on inside sources that the ammunition was American and that it was being transported to Ukraine.
Since Russia’s invasion, Poland has become the main hub for military equipment being transported to Ukraine. The US has also expanded its military presence in the country during that period.
Jak dowiedział się dziennikarz https://t.co/68fLeYd0pG, ze stojącego składu zginęły cztery skrzynie amerykańskiej amunicji, która miała trafić na Ukrainę.https://t.co/1JHgvrh7nR
— tvn24 (@tvn24) June 7, 2023
The cases disappeared on Sunday from a train carriage standing at the station in Węgliniec, a small town in western Poland, 20 kilometres from the German border. They were found on Wednesday morning submerged in a pond in the village of Stary Węgliniec, less than 4 kilometres from the station.
Police spokesman Mariusz Ciarka confirmed to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the crates of ammunition had been stolen from a train operated by US soldiers.
“Three cases remained sealed with no signs of tampering with the contents, while one case was open but contained a full set of ammunition,” said Ciarka. “We have secured the cases.”
Policjanci z Pieńska (Komenda Powiatowa Policji w Zgorzelcu @DPolicja) w Starym Weglińcu k. Zgorzelca ujawnili i odzyskali skradzione z pociągu specjalnego 4 skrzynie z zawartoscia amunicji. Na chwilę obecną nie stwierdzono braków amunicji.
— Polska Policja 🇵🇱 (@PolskaPolicja) June 7, 2023
The district prosecutor’s office also confirmed the detention of the three individuals but declined to give further details for the moment.
“Currently, the detainees are being processed,” spokesman Tomasz Czułowski told PAP. “The prosecutor’s office will be able to provide more information after the completion of the procedures with the detainees.”
In a statement sent to TVN, the prosecutor’s office also said that the theft was discovered by railway security guards during their rounds of the train while it was at the station in Węgliniec.
Last year, as Poland became a growing hub for goods being transported to Ukraine, the Polish authorities appealed to the public not to publish images or other information online relating to the transport of equipment through the country.
In March this year, the Internal Security Agency (ABW) detained a group of people suspected of working on behalf of Russia to collect information on shipments of military equipment to Ukraine.
Poland has detained nine foreign nationals whom it says were spying on behalf of Russia.
The group monitored arms shipments going through Poland to Ukraine and was also preparing actions to “paralyse” such deliveries, say the Polish authorities https://t.co/9c0odEQfNw
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 16, 2023
Main image credit: Sullivan Laramie/Wikimedia Commons (under public domain)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
