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No Irish Inspector Dispatched to Slovakia, Say Interior Ministry Officials
Friday 08 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 8 (TASR) - The rumour that an Irish police official has been deployed to Slovakia is without foundation, Interior Ministry spokesman Erik Tomas informed media on Friday.
Tomas says that Superintendant Martin McLauglin from the Irish Police (An Garda Siochana) has asked his Slovak counterparts for a full report on the circumstances regarding the January 2 explosives incident – wherein a control check of the airport's security system went awry and resulted in a Slovak man being detained in Dublin – as well as the measures taken in Slovakia after realising the package was mistakenly been sent to Ireland. "Slovak police received this request on Thursday afternoon (January 7, 2010)," said Tomas.
Ninety grams of explosives were found in the luggage of a Slovak citizen who boarded a plane in Poprad (Presov region) headed to Ireland. Police at the airport hid samples of explosives in the luggage of several unwitting passengers as part of the security operation. However, 90 grams of the substance (RDX) became stuck in the straps of the bag of the electrician and were taken on board the plane undetected. The 49-year-old man was arrested in Ireland and subsequently released without charges.
Slovakia's Interior Ministry conveyed its profound regret to Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern over the entire incident. According to Irish Foreign Affais Ministry officials, Ahern finds the fact that the Irish side was notified by Slovak authorities with a three-day delay quite disturbing.
The head of Slovakia's Border and Foreigners Police Tibor Mako on January 6 denied information published by Irish media, according to which eight samples of explosives were found in the luggage of the Slovak man. Mako claimed the explosives in question was a 90-gram sample that stuck to the straps of one of the bags by mistake.
It was the fault of the policeman on duty, according to Mako. Not only did the police officer forget to take away the explosives from the luggage area, he also failed to report the case to his superiors at once.
However, based on the principle of executive responsibility, Mako decided to step down over the scandal, and Interior Minister Robert Kalinak has accepted his resignation.
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