‘Smoking gun’ evidence of Putin’s bid to hit German airport with ‘Semtex-packed drone’ as plot ‘linked to blitz on UK’

EVIDENCE of Vladimir Putin’s plot to hit a German airport with a Semtex-packed drone has reportedly been linked to a series of parcel bombs that targeted the UK. Mad Vlad’s suspected attempt to blast a plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport with an explosive-laden drone failed. A hero airport bus driver found an explosive-laden drone on August 4 at Leipzig airport Credit: Getty The Semtex-packed device had failed to detonate Credit: BILD Fotoservice But now DNA on the drone has been linked to a 2024 plot to send parcel bombs to Britain Credit: AP A parcel shipped from Leipzig caught fire at a DHL warehouse near Birmingham in 2024 A canny airport bus driver found the drone on August 4 after it smashed into the wing of a parked Ukrainian cargo plane. It had failed to detonate, but held important clues about who was behind the plot. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The hero airport worker found the drone by a huge Antonov An-124 that was set to fly military supplies to Ukraine. He reportedly managed to get close enough so he could bravely kick the drone as it hovered, before pinning it under his foot and alerting airport security. Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said a “ripped” detonator on the explosive package was the only thing that prevented the device from going off as it hit the tarmac. Investigators have analysed the drone and found traces of DNA that match at least one person suspected of being involved in a Kremlin-backed plot to send parcel bombs in the UK, according to the Mail on Sunday. One parcel burst into flames as it was set to be loaded on a DHL flight to the UK in July 2024 at Leipzig airport. A second caught fire just two days later in the UK. It had already reached a DHL depot near Birmingham. Most read in The Sun DNA evidence suggests a Russian spy ring is behind both attacks Credit: Getty It comes as Vladimir Putin rages at British-made drones smashing targets in Russia Credit: Reuters In Poland, two similar parcels were discovered. All were posted from Vilnius, Lithuania, and were thought to be part of a “practice plot” ahead of a suspected plan to sabotage flights to the US. Investigators identified 22 suspects in Poland and Lithuania who are thought to be working for Russia‘s GRU spy service. The same network is now thought to be behind the latest Leipzig drone attack. German security services expert Professor Peter Neumann told the Mail: “They found DNA on the Leipzig drone and… the person that matches that DNA is a person who is suspected in Lithuania of involvement in the parcel bomb plot of 2024.” Five men are on trial in Lithuania suspected of involvement in the 2024 parcel bomb plot. Professor Neumann called the DNA the “smoking gun” that shows “the parcel bomb attack was basically led by the Russian GRU”. German MP Roderich Kieswetter added: “The pattern of behaviour matches with the Russian conduct of such operations.” Lithuania’s prosecutor’s office confirmed “the drone incident at Leipzig Airport is linked to Lithuania”. The astonishing failed Leipzig bomb is thought to have been engineered with roughly 600grams of Semtex squeezed into a sweetcorn can. Investigators reportedly found a stash of similar can bombs smuggled into Poland by Russian spies. The bomb was controlled by a phone sim card and antenna, with plotters hiding a phone signal booster in a nearby tree, investigators believe. This would have helped saboteurs control the bomb from a distance. And investigators think a second drone hovered above Leipzig-Halle airport to send live images to the plotters. This drone collided with a cargo plane from Marseille, which was forced into an emergency landing in Hanover and left with minor damage.