Court keeps Šuranov under electronic monitoring

The Vilnius Regional Court has ruled that Lithuanian citizen Aleksandras Šuranov, accused of allegedly sending parcels containing incendiary devices from Vilnius, must remain under electronic monitoring, LRT reported.

The court extended the measure for three months from August 11, said Lina Nemeikaitė, an aide to the chair of the Vilnius Regional Court.

“The intensive supervision measure applied to A. Šuranov was assessed in light of the fact that he is accused of serious criminal offences carrying only custodial sentences, and that he has connections abroad. The court noted that these circumstances have not disappeared,” Nemeikaitė told ELTA.

The ruling can still be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal. Šuranov’s lawyer had asked the court to change the conditions of his electronic monitoring so that he could leave home for longer periods.

During questioning in court, Šuranov said he had been asked to send parcels to several foreign countries in exchange for money. He said he did not think the parcels might be suspicious.

“I had no suspicions,” Šuranov said. Asked why he believed he and the other defendants had been charged and brought to trial, he said they may have been deceived. “We were set up,” he said.

Five people charged

Five people have been charged in the case: Šuranov, Daniil Jencius, Vasilij Kovač, Vadym Borsuk and Eldar Salmanov. The defendants are citizens of Ukraine, Lithuania and Russia.

The men are accused of organising and planning terrorist acts in different countries as members of an organised terrorist group. They were detained in Lithuania and other countries.

Investigators determined that on July 19, 2024, Šuranov allegedly acted with accomplices to use DHL and DPD international parcel delivery and transport services to send four parcels containing homemade explosive-incendiary devices from Vilnius.

Two parcels were addressed to the United Kingdom and sent on DHL cargo aircraft. The other two were addressed to Poland and transported by DPD freight trucks.

The first parcel detonated and caught fire at Leipzig Airport early on July 20, shortly before it was due to be loaded onto a DHL cargo aircraft on the Vilnius-Leipzig-United Kingdom route. The second caught fire during the night of July 21 in a DPD freight truck travelling through Poland.

The parcel that reached the United Kingdom caught fire about a day later, also during the night, at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham. The fourth parcel, transported by DPD road freight, did not ignite because of a device malfunction and was intercepted by officers.

Examination of the parcel established the mechanism of the explosive-incendiary devices and their potential danger. According to the indictment, the defendants concealed the devices in parcels containing shoulder massagers and body-care products.

All the defendants have pleaded not guilty.

According to officials, the defendants on trial in Vilnius were operatives and intermediaries, while the organisers of the crime were in Russia and could not be reached. Investigators determined that the crimes were organised by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian armed forces.