re: missing explosives the article
Posted by: empalo <empalo@...>
NEWS: Archive
Missing Explosives Have the ATF's Full Attention
"During this time we are going to look into it with a lot more personnel."
10/10/2001
By George Smith / 11 News
Click to watch video
In Houston hundreds of pounds of explosives are missing and it's being
investigated as a possible theft.
They had been stored in the 14,500 block of Lockwood in northeast Houston.
The explosives were in a portable bunker located near the intersection of
Lockwood and the Beltway. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said
they were stolen sometime between Saturday and Tuesday.
Franceska Perot with the ATF said, "It looked like, according to the scene,
that entry was forced into the bunker, possibly by tying a chain on the back
of a truck."
The explosives belonged to a Houston company called Veritas DGC Land, an oil
and gas company.
But, the ATF says, another company, Air Jack Drilling, was storing the
materials. A total of 700 pounds of seismic charges and 332 blasting caps
are missing. These are things normally used by mining and petroleum
companies, but they could be used for destruction.
Perot said, "The caps and the seismic charges are considered high order
explosives."
Since the area where the explosives were stored is so remote there weren't
any surveillance cameras, which could offer clues. Investigators say they're
looking for several suspects.
Perot said, "During this heightened time of alert... of course this is
something we look into every day... but during this time we are going to
look into it with a lot more personnel."
The ATF is following several leads, but obviously they won't talk about the
investigation. The agency told 11 News that it's fairly common for
explosives to be stolen. In fact, they're stolen every day. Sometimes
they're sold for profit.
But with all the concern about possible terrorist attacks, 700 pounds of
stolen explosives is cause for alarm.