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War treasures in the basement: Officials discover tank shells in Gmunden
Investigations into the drug environment in Gmunden lead to the discovery of weapons and two live tank grenades from the Second World War.
War treasures in the basement: Officials discover tank shells in Gmunden
In the Upper Austrian district of Gmunden, recent investigations into drug-related crime resulted in a shocking discovery. Officials from the Wels public prosecutor's office searched the apartment and company of a 40-year-old and discovered not only drug paraphernalia, but an entire arsenal of weapons and war material. The items seized included a hunting weapon, a carbine, an air rifle, a blank gun and an air pistol. However, two live tank shells from the Second World War were particularly alarming for investigators.
In view of these dangerous discoveries, the defusing service of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) was immediately alerted. After the condition of the war relics was classified as partially transportable, it was decided to carry out controlled destruction in the nearby quarry in order to minimize potential dangers. A perimeter was set up and late in the afternoon, at 5:10 p.m., the live grenades were safely disposed of using a controlled detonation, officials said. The alleged owner of the weapons and war relics has now been reported to the Wels public prosecutor's office, which illustrates the serious consequences of this investigation.
Role of the defusing service
The defusing service plays a central role in combating fire and explosive devices in Germany. These specialists, who belong to Federal Police Directorate 11 and work at 15 locations in the country, take care of defusing hazardous substances consisting of homemade explosive devices or modified ammunition. The team of almost 200 trained police officers has received special qualifications through modular courses at the Federal Police's defusing school. Particular attention is paid to combating so-called IEDs, i.e. unconventional incendiary and explosive devices. An insight into the work of the defusing service can also be found in a video on YouTube: "What does...? The defusing service of the Federal Police", like komm-zur-bundespolizei.de reported.