Hexogen, described as a high-power plastic explosive was being transported into Moscow where it would be used to massively blow up a target in the Russian capital, according to intelligence.
Russia Intelligence body the FSB said on Tuesday it had arrested a man who was transporting the deadly substance hidden in the icons seized in the Pskov region.
According to FSB experts, the hexogen seized in the cargo would be enough to blow up a five-story building. The cargo was on its way to Moscow.
“A high-power plastic explosive, hexogen, was found in the icons’ attachments. The power of this explosive is one and a half times greater than the power of TNT,” says Dmitry Belotserkovsky, head of the ECC department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Pskov region.
“The mass of the seized explosive is sufficient to blow up a five-story residential building,” Belotserkovsky said.
A man detained for transporting an explosive stated that he was transporting it to the Russian capital.
“I moved into Russian territory to the city of Moscow, where the unloading was supposed to take place,” the alleged criminal said in the video.
Today, April 2, the FSB announced that, together with the Federal Customs Service, it has blocked the import channel for explosives in Orthodox icons.
They were transported from Ukraine through the countries of the European Union, and 27 improvised explosive devices camouflaged as icons were recovered.
According to the intelligence service, the cargo followed the route Ukraine-Romania-Hungary-Slovakia-Poland-Lithuania-Latvia-Russia.
A criminal case has been initiated under Part 2 of Art. 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal movement of explosives and explosive devices across the border of the Russian Federation by a group of persons by prior conspiracy).
Hexogen
RDX or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (CH₂N₂O₂)₃.
It is white, odorless and tasteless, widely used as an explosive. It was used widely in World War II and remains common in military applications.
Chemically, it is classified as a nitroamine alongside HMX, which is a more energetic explosive than TNT.
