The Diplomat
A 74-year-old Spanish national and retired man from the town of Miranda de Ebro in Burgos was arrested yesterday, near his home, by agents of the Provincial Intelligence Brigade of Madrid as the alleged author of sending explosive letters to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and to other organisations, including the Ukrainian and US Embassies in Spain.
The detainee, according to police sources, is Pompeyo G. P., single, childless, and who lived alone at Calle Clavel, 2, in the neighbourhood of La Chacra. He was a civil servant in the Vitoria City Council until 2013, when he retired.
Although some media have pointed out that the detainee, who is very active on social networks, has a “pro-Russian” profile, police sources believe that he acted alone, with no links to Russian espionage or to a Russian supremacist group, which could be the Russian Imperial Movement, as the US secret services had suggested, according to The New York Times, which quoted US government sources this week.
However, investigators have not ruled out the involvement or influence of others.
What they do seem to be clear is that Pompeyo G. P. is the alleged perpetrator of all the mailings sent in November and December of last year to the President of the Government, the Ukrainian Embassy and the US Embassy in Madrid, the company Instalaza in Zaragoza, the European Union Satellite Centre located at the Torrejón Air Base and the Ministry of Defence. A security guard at the Ukrainian Embassy was injured by the explosion of one of the devices.
Pompeyo G. P. allegedly made the explosive letters at his home, where investigators found tools for constructing the incendiary letters and material for a new batch of mail.
The Ministry of the Interior stressed that the investigation, which has been carried out under the name of ‘Operation Konvert’, which means ‘envelope’ in Ukrainian, has been very “complex and laborious”, affecting several provinces of Spain. The proceedings have been able to determine that the letters were sent from Burgos.
The detainee will be brought before the Audiencia Nacional tomorrow, Friday.
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