German Christmas Market Bomb Could Be Extortion Plot, Police Say
December 03 2017 - 11:30AM
Dow Jones News
By William Wilkes
FRANKFURT--German police said a bomb found in Potsdam on Friday
was aimed at extorting millions of euros from Deutsche Post AG's
DHL delivery service and said the perpetrator could send further
potentially deadly devices.
German police dismantled the suspected bomb in the center of
Potsdam on Friday. Police ordered the evacuation of a Christmas
market in the city center after the device, described as
cylindrical with batteries, nails and cables, was delivered to a
pharmacy near the market. A bomb disposal squad destroyed the
device with a high-powered water jet.
Authorities in Potsdam on Sunday said they found a piece of
paper with a quick-response code, a barcode-like symbol which
stores data that can be read by a smartphone camera, near where the
bomb was found. The code revealed an extortion demand "in the
millions" addressed to DHL, authorities said.
A spokesman for DHL declined to comment on the matter.
The device was posted at a package station in Potsdam, a city of
165,000 people about 45 minutes drive from Berlin, early on
Thursday morning, according to police. A spokesman for DHL wasn't
immediately available for comment.
Further devices could be sent to other small business, the
spokes an said, although police couldn't rule out they would be
sent to individuals. Police in Potsdam said members of the public
should remain alert and not open unexpected packages from senders
they don't know.
"The perpetrator takes damage to human life and health as a
given cost," Brandenburg police chief Hans-Jürgen Mörke said on
Sunday.
Germany is on high alert for Christmas season after a truck
rampage killed 12 people at a market in Berlin last year.
Write to William Wilkes at william.wilkes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 03, 2017 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Deutsche Post (PK) (USOTC:DPSGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Deutsche Post (PK) (USOTC:DPSGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024