Swarzędz Alert Resolved: Car Owner Arrested for Planting Incendiary Device and Misleading Police

Following a major security alert in Swarzędz on July 15 that paralyzed traffic and prompted evacuations, police arrested the vehicle’s 35-year-old owner on July 30 for planting an improvised incendiary device.

The July 15 Security Alert in Swarzędz

On July 15, a driver at a gas station near the intersection of Poznańska and Kirkora streets in Swarzędz, Greater Poland Voivodeship, noticed strange cables under his car. Police arrived and evacuated residents of nearby buildings as well as local service and retail points.

Authorities also cut off gas pipelines, closed national road No. 92, and halted train traffic on the Swarzędz-Poznań Antoninek line. Bomb disposal technicians checked the vehicle and found no explosive device, but secured a non-standard electrical unit.

Chief Inspector Andrzej Borowiak of the provincial police headquarters in Poznań stated at the time that the device’s characteristics and its unusual installation justified the full-scale evacuation and transport blockades due to a real threat.

Investigation and Discovery of the Incendiary Device

Police launched an investigation, securing the vehicle and utilizing a drone with a high-resolution camera. Experts from the Criminalistic Laboratory of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Poznań examined the collected elements.

Laboratory experiments confirmed that the vehicle contained an improvised incendiary device equipped with a remote detonator and a small pyrotechnic material attached. An expert confirmed that placing this device near the fuel tank endangered the life and health of people nearby.

Arrest of the Vehicle Owner

Two weeks later, on July 30, investigators solved the case by arresting the 35-year-old car owner who had originally reported the strange cables. Police stated that he attempted to mislead officers, provided false leads, and fabricated procedural evidence.

Charges and Pre-trial Detention

Investigators searched the suspect’s apartment, securing semi-finished products capable of creating an explosive device and a pyrotechnic mixture similar to the one used in the car.

The prosecutor’s office brought two charges against the man: causing immediate danger of an explosion of explosive and flammable materials threatening many lives, and submitting false testimony along with creating false evidence. The suspect refused to make a statement during interrogation.

At the prosecutor’s request, the court arrested the man for three months. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Edited by Jan Latała.