Explosives depot had no protection
Site of theft of 28kg of Semtex was not authorised to stock it until 2009.
A storage depot where 28kg of Semtex and detonators was stolen over the weekend was not authorised to hold the explosives.
The head of the police in the area Xavier de Fuerst said storing such explosives at the former fort in Corbas near Lyon “was not usual and certainly not authorised.”
He added that the staff had “lowered their guard through overconfidence”.
Mr Fuerst said the site, which was sold off by the ministry of defence to the ministry of the interior in 2005, was not scheduled to hold explosives until 2009.
He said neither the local authorities nor the police had been aware that the explosives were there.
“The explosives had probably been there since the beginning of 2008. The commander of the centre had anticipated the fact that he would have official authorisation by the end of 2009, but the security measures were not in place,” Mr Fuerst said.
Semtex is a powerful explosive, odourless and leaving almost no trace, which is regularly used by terrorist organisations.
Half a kilo of the explosive blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 killing 259 people on board and seven in the village.
Mayor of Corbas Thierry Butin said: “I am extremely surprised and angry that from one day to the next you can store products as dangerous as this, without any protection.”
A judiciary source said on Saturday that the explosives had been taken "a few days ago" but their disappearance was only noticed on Friday. He refused to say what leads investigators were following.
Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the incident stemmed from "known failings within the site's own security" and added that the site chief had been "immediately suspended" and a full probe ordered.
“A theft of explosives used by bomb-disposal experts to destroy munitions retrieved from former battlefields has taken place on a site adjacent to the supply depot...," the minister's statement said.
The incident comes just weeks after paratroopers wounded
17 civilians attending a demonstration at a base open day after accidentally firing live bullets instead of blanks.
Photo:Dano
