German police destroys suspicious letter sent to president
Iran Press TV
Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:24PM GMT
German police has detonated a suspicious-looking letter addressed to the country's President Joachim Gauck’s office, an official spokesman says.
The unnamed presidential spokesman said the package was destroyed Friday in a controlled explosion on the premises of the presidential palace, after a sample of a substance found in the envelope was taken to be tested.
"A controlled explosion was carried out in the park next to the presidential palace Bellevue. An initial assessment showed it posed a concrete danger," said the spokesman.
The Federal Criminal Police Office later confirmed that the substance was an explosive grade material.
According to German newspaper Die Welt, the retrieved powder was identified as highly explosive and easily detonated Hexamethylene triperoxide diamin (HMTD).
The president was not at the time present at his Berlin headquarters and no staff members were at risk.
The incident comes a day after United States authorities charged a man with mailing letters poisoned with the deadly substance, ricin, to President Barack Obama and Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker.
In November 2010, Chancellor Angela Merkel's office in Berlin, the Federal Chancellery, received an explosive packaged, which was rendered harmless and later traced to Greece.
CAH/JR
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