Spain police detains suspect over letter bombs

• The 74-year-old suspect was detained in Miranda de Ebro, north of Madrid.
• He is accused of delivering six letter bombs to the Spanish prime minister.
• The single incident involving one of the six letter bombs was on November 30.

Police in Spain have detained a Spanish man on suspicion of delivering six letter bombs to the Spanish prime minister and other prominent targets late last year, according to a statement from the nation’s interior ministry released on Wednesday.

According to the ministry press office, the 74-year-old suspect was detained in Miranda de Ebro, a town some three hours’ drive north of Madrid.

The single incident involving one of the six letter bombs was on November 30 at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid.

The letter, which was intended to the Ukrainian ambassador, was handled improperly by an employee of the embassy, according to Spanish officials at the time.

The other five letter bombs, which were all stopped by security checks and did not cause any casualties, were reportedly delivered in late November or early December, according to the authorities.

They were delivered to the Spanish defence minister, prime minister of Spain, the US Embassy in Madrid, a Spanish air force facility close to Madrid, and an armaments manufacturer in Zaragoza, a city in the country’s north.

According to Spanish media, Spain reportedly delivered guns made by the Spanish armaments manufacturer Instalaza last year to aid Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invasion of that nation. Regarding the reports, the firm declined to comment to reputed media outlet.

According to the interior ministry, the suspect’s detention is a part of an ongoing investigation that is being led by an investigating magistrate at Spain’s National Court in Madrid.

According to the court’s press office, the suspect is scheduled to be arraigned before a National Court judge on Friday in a hearing that will take place behind closed doors.

The ministry mandated additional security at Spanish embassies, consulates, and other locations requiring special protection on December 1.

After the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, security had already been increased.

The Russian embassy in Madrid tweeted its condemnation of the transmission of such devices following the wave of letter bombs.

“We condemn any threat or terrorist act,” it tweeted.

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