It has been revealed that a shipment containing an incendiary device found its way into DHL's UK parcel network and caught fire in July, with the incident under investigation by the country's counter-terrorism police.
The Guardian and German broadcasters WDR and NDR reported that the device had been transported by aircraft into the UK and later caught fire at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham.
The incident occurred in July but has only come to light following an investigation published by the news services yesterday.
At this stage, it is not known whether the package was transported on a freighter or a passenger aircraft, or what its final destination would have been.
A similar incident occurred in Germany earlier this year with the package igniting in Leipzig.
The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Thomas Haldenwang, said the shipment had been delayed and would otherwise have been on an aircraft when it caught fire and would have resulted in a crash.
In a statement to Air Cargo News, DHL Express said: "DHL Express Europe is taking risk mitigation actions to secure its network, staff and assets as well as customer shipments by implementing strengthened security measures across the European countries as a reaction to ongoing investigations by authorities from several countries."
The Guardian reports that British investigators suspect that the incident in the UK is part of a wider campaign carried out by Russian spies across Europe this year.
The incidents have resulted in other countries ramping up their security requirements for shipments from Europe and CIS countries.
Australia recently joined the US and Canada in adding stricter security requirements for cargo originating from the regions.
The three countries require that cargo being transported on passenger aircraft from 55 European and CIS countries should only be tendered from shippers with whom the forwarder has an Established Business Relationship or if they are part of a known consigner programme, if applicable. Extra security details are also required.
The sudden implementation of the new requirements caught the forwarding industry by surprise.
US Airforwarders Association (AfA) previously told Air Cargo News that obtaining some of the extra information requested by the US had created challenges for forwarders.
“The air cargo security landscape is constantly evolving in response to an ever-changing threat environment,” AfA executive director Brandon Fried said.
“While the enhancements to the Air Cargo Advanced Screening requirements are not surprising, their implementation has proven more complex than anticipated.
“Since the government requires airlines to implement these new procedures, much of the necessary information comes from freight forwarders who manage the shipments.
“However, obtaining and sharing some of this additional information has presented practical challenges."
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