VILNIUS - The Kaunas Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a pre-trial investigation after Lithuanian border guards found a bomb underneath a vehicle at the Kaliningrad-Lithuanian border on Oct. 7.
Border guards at the Ramoniskes control post found wires in the back of a vehicle that were leading to an object attached under the car, Lithuanian border service spokesman Gedrius Mistis told The Baltic Times.
A special task force and the regional prosecutor's office were called to the scene shortly after 7 a.m. as soon as the guards suspected the device to be an explosive. Work at the checkpoint was suspended for four hours as mine-clearing units examined the device for any explosive materials.
After it was concluded that the device was inactive due to poor connections, it was handed over to experts for investigation purposes. Preliminary data has suggested that 200 grams of TNT were included, according to BNS.
The driver of the Volkswagen Transporter is a 48-year-old Kaunas resident. He said he drove for 112 kilometers without knowing the explosive was in his vehicle, according to the Lietuvos Rytas.
All of the driver's documents were cleared, and Mistis said that the border officials know him as a frequent traveler to and from the Kaliningrad region.
"Nothing was suspicious about him or his documents," Mistis said. "Most of the border guards know people who travel through the border, if a person travels one or two times a week, it's not strange."
What makes the incident unusual is how the bomb was attached to his vehicle in the first place, Mistis said.
Vladimir Kokoskin, Chief Prosecutor Deputy of Kaunas Regional Prosecutor's Office, did not answer any questions about the investigation.
