Saturday morning: Slovakian border police covertly placed plastic explosives in the luggage of a man flying to Dublin from Poprad-Tatry airport in eastern Slovakia. The explosives were planted as part of an exercise to test sniffer dogs at the airport.
The Slovakian ministry of the interior said one of the sniffer dogs detected the explosives. The dog’s police handler removed one batch of explosives but before he removed a second batch he got called to another job. He then forgot to go back to the passenger to get the second batch, according to the ministry.
Saturday 11am: The Slovak man in whose bag the explosives are hidden boarded his Danube Wings flight for Dublin, where he has lived for three years.
The Slovakians said the border police quickly realised some explosives were still in his bag and that they contacted the pilot of the flight before he took off. The pilot decided the explosives posed no safety risk and he departed for Dublin. The interior ministry claimed authorities at Poprad airport then sent a telex message to Dublin airport informing them of the item on the plane.
However, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said they received no notice. Instead, the message was sent to Servisair, the baggage handlers for Danube Wings. Servisair say the message did not indicate the material represented an emergency.
Monday evening: Having identified the passenger carrying the explosives, the Slovakian authorities rang him in Dublin. They asked him to look in his bag and he confirmed the explosives were there. He was told the Irish authorities were aware of the situation and was asked to wait to be contacted by them.
Tuesday 10.15am: Slovakian police contacted the DAA by phone and explained the situation. The DAA immediately contacted the Garda, who in turn requested the assistance of the Army’s bomb disposal team.
Tuesday 11am: Gardaí raided the Slovak man’s flat on Lower Dorset St in Dublin (pictured). They found the explosives and arrested the man under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Tests were carried out and when the material was found to be stable it was taken away by gardaí for further analysis.
Tuesday 12.05pm: The sealed-off area was declared safe and residents and workers returned to evacuated buildings. The Slovakians said the material could not have exploded unless attached to a detonator and public safety was not at risk.
Tuesday 2.30pm: The arrested man was released after gardaí satisfied themselves he was innocent. The Slovakians said the man was arrested for “an incomprehensible reason” and they had fully explained to the DAA that he was completely innocent. Gardaí said they could not be sure the call to the DAA was from an official Slovakian security source. They insisted any person found with explosives here will always be arrested.
Tuesday 5.45pm: Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern issued a statement saying he had requested a Garda report. Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy appointed Det Chief Supt Martin McLaughlin to compile the report.
Tuesday evening: The Slovakian minister for interior Robert Kalinak contacted Mr Ahern by telephone and apologised. He said his government would co-operate with any Irish inquiry into the case.
Wednesday morning: Mr Kalinak’s department issued a statement criticising the Irish media’s reporting of the case. The statement said explosives were hidden in the bag of one passenger and not eight. The entire incident stemmed from a “silly and unprofessional” mistake by the police dog handler adding the officer would be punished and sniffer dog training modified to prevent any repeat of the case.
CONOR LALLY