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Namibian Police Officer Charged Over Airport Explosive

23 November 2010 04:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A court in Namibia has charged a senior airport police officer with placing a fake bomb at an airport in the countryâ€™s capital last week, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

Prosecutors say Nehemia Shafuda was charged Monday with smuggling a suspected explosive device, using that device in an airport, and interfering with airport operations.

Shafuda is the commander of the Namibian policeâ€™s aviation security unit.

The suspicious device, found in a suitcase tagged for a German-bound plane, did not contain explosives. However, security personnel did not know that when it was discovered Wednesday at an airport in Windhoek.

On Friday, Germanyâ€™s interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said the package was a â€œtestâ€ device, manufactured by an American company and designed to probe security measures. De Maiziere said he did not know who was responsible for the security test, and that investigators are trying to determine who placed the device with luggage bound for the German city of Munich.

The bomb scare came just after de Maiziere announced a heightened state of alert in Germany, on indications of a possible terror attack planned for the end of the month.

German officials have said the country will maintain increased security measures until at least the end of the year.