In Poland, a NATO armored train carrying ammunition to Ukraine was robbed
On the evening of June 4, a theft from a train carriage transporting ammunition was discovered at the railway station in Węgliniec, Lower Silesia, Poland. The theft was noticed when a railway security patrol observed the absence of a seal on a container of one of the train cars at around 19:30. According to o2.pl, the train was supposed to be guarded by NATO soldiers. The incident was reported to the police and military gendarmerie.
On June 7, the police announced the discovery of stolen crates containing ammunition. Three individuals have been arrested. Realizing what they had stolen, they got rid of the loot. They now face up to 10 years of imprisonment.
"The police officers from Pieńsk (District Police Headquarters in Zgorzelec) in Stary Węgliniec near Zgorzelec discovered and recovered the special crates with ammunition stolen from the train. Currently, no shortage of ammunition has been found," reported the official Twitter account of the police service.
The press office of the District Police Headquarters in Zgorzelec, contacted by the o2.pl editorial team after the publication of this announcement on Twitter, declined to comment on the case. The district prosecutor's office reported the arrest of three individuals in connection with the theft.
The train, numbered 621004, was traveling from Horka station in Saxony, Germany. A commission was formed at the scene to investigate the circumstances. At the request of the authorities, a portion of the railway tracks was closed for several hours. Eventually, the train departed from the station on the morning of June 5.
According to o2.pl, the stolen crates contained 155mm artillery shells with fragmentation-explosive elements. The destination of the transport, Zamość-Boratycze station located near the border with Ukraine, carries significant implications. It was likely a delivery of ammunition destined for Ukraine.
Journalists from o2.pl reached out to several institutions involved or expected to be involved in the case. The carrier, PKP Cargo, did not respond to the inquiries. The Military Gendarmerie also became involved. A spokesperson for the Gendarmerie Unit in Żagań stated that "all actions related to this incident were taken and carried out by police officers from the District Police Headquarters in Zgorzelec."
As the spokesperson explained, this is in accordance with "the powers defined in the SOFA Agreement." This agreement is between the governments of Poland and the United States and pertains to the jurisdiction over foreign armed forces stationed in Poland. Regarding this matter, the Gendarmerie spokesperson referred us to the police, as well as the Headquarters of Transport and Military Movement, the unit responsible for military transport.