Lithuanian appeals court orders two suspects in DHL flammable parcel case to remain in custody

A Lithuanian appeals court has overturned a lower court’s decision to release two suspects in the high-profile case of flammable parcels sent via DHL and DPD, ordering they remain in pretrial detention, LRT reports.

The Vilnius Regional Court had ruled in May to release 63-year-old Ukrainian citizen Vasilijus Kovačas and another defendant, Russian national Eldaras Salmanovas, under bail conditions. However, the Appeals Court annulled that decision on Monday, extending Kovačas’s detention by three months starting June 3. The ruling is final and not subject to further appeal.

Last week, the same court upheld the prosecution’s appeal to keep Salmanovas in custody for an additional three months. Both men had been ordered to wear electronic monitoring bracelets, post €30,000 bail each, and register with police if released.

The case centres on four parcels containing improvised explosive incendiary devices sent from Vilnius in July 2024. Two were addressed to the UK via DHL cargo flights, while two others were dispatched to Poland via DPD freight trucks. One parcel detonated at Leipzig Airport on July 20 before loading onto a connecting flight; a second ignited in a DPD truck travelling through Poland the following night. A third parcel self-combusted in a DHL warehouse in Birmingham roughly 24 hours after arrival. The fourth device, transported by road, failed to ignite due to a malfunction and was seized by authorities.

Investigators determined the devices were concealed in packages declared as massage tools and body care products. All five defendants—including Lithuanians Aleksandras Šuranovas, Daniilas Jencius, and Vadymas Borsukas—have pleaded not guilty. Three remain at large pending trial.

Authorities allege the suspects acted as executors or intermediaries, while the operation was orchestrated by Russia’s GRU military intelligence, which remains beyond Lithuanian jurisdiction. The case has been separated from a broader ongoing investigation by Lithuania’s Criminal Police Bureau into at least 16 related incidents.