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Letters containing animal eyes sent to Ukrainian embassy in Spain

Spanish police have intercepted three letters containing animal eyes addressed to Ukrainian diplomatic buildings, continuing the trend of threatening deliveries that have included a letter bomb addressed to Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.

Published: 6 December 2022 09:45 CET
Letters containing animal eyes sent to Ukrainian embassy in Spain
Spanish police stand guard near the US embassy following a letter bomb. Photo: OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP

Spanish police have intercepted another batch of threatening letters addressed to Ukrainian diplomatic offices in Spain.

On Monday morning, three suspicious envelopes were detected and intercepted by security systems at a Spanish post office, although police quickly ruled out the presence of explosives, as have been used in letter bombs across Spain in recent weeks.

It was instead confirmed that they contained animal eyes.

Spanish media reports claim that according to sources from Spain’s Interior Ministry, the letters were first detected on Friday and the National Police passed on details to the postal service.

The three suspicious envelopes were addressed to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, and consulates in Barcelona and Málaga.

These latest deliveries continue a trend of sinister letters sent in Spain in recent weeks. Letter bombs have been sent to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, and also the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in late-November. 

Further letters containing explosives were also intercepted at the Torrejón de Ardoz airbase on the outskirts of Madrid, somewhere regularly used to send Spanish weapons to Ukraine. 

Other letter bombs were also sent to Spain’s Ministry of Defence in Madrid, the US Embassy in Madrid, and at the headquarters of military equipment firm Instalaza in the northeastern city of Zaragoza, according to the Interior Ministry.

Instalaza manufactures the grenade launchers Spain have donated to the Ukrainian war effort.

Ukraine’s spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleg Nikolenko, has confirmed the latest three envelopes containing animal eyes, and that there are now 21 cases in which threatening packages have been sent to Ukrainian diplomatic buildings in 12 countries.

Last week the Ukrainian Embassy in Lisbon received two suspicious envelopes that were ultimately found not to contain explosives.

On Saturday, a source close to the police investigation revealed to Reuters that at least six of the letter bombs were likely posted from the city of Vallodolid in northern Spain.

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CRIME

Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

A top drug trafficker is on the run after accidentally being bailed from jail in Spain, officials said Tuesday, dodging a bid to extradite him to the Netherlands where his Mocro Maffia gang is based.

Published: 24 April 2024 09:23 CEST
Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

Karim Bouyakhrichan was arrested in January in Marbella, an upmarket tourist resort on Spain’s southern coast, along with five other members of the Mocro Maffia gang.

They are suspected of having bought 172 properties in Spain worth over €50 million ($53.5 million) to launder their gains from drug trafficking.

But the following month a court in the southern city of Málaga decided to grant him provisional release with judicial supervision, against the wishes of public prosecutors and the Spanish government. Judicial sources said Tuesday his whereabouts are now unknown.

“It is worrying news,” Justice Félix Bolaños told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting when asked about the case.

“I can’t comment on any court decisions, but I do trust that the state security forces will bring this person to justice as soon as possible,” he added.

The Málaga court said in its ruling granting Bouyakhrichan provisional release that the risk that he would flee could be avoided “with other less burdensome security measures” than pre-trial detention.

It imposed bail of €50,000, took away his passport and ordered him to report to the authorities twice a month.

Dutch extradition bid

At the same time Spain’s top criminal court was processing a request for Bouyakhrichan’s extradition to the Netherlands, where he is wanted for large-scale drug trafficking.

But it postponed its extradition proceedings because the Málaga court intended to put Bouyakhrichan on trial first for money laundering, court sources told AFP.

When the Netherlands provided more information to back its extradition request, the top court summoned him to testify and when he failed to appear a fresh warrant for his arrest was issued.

Vincent Veenman, a spokesman at the Dutch public prosecutor’s office in The Hague, said it was “unknown” to them why Bouyakhrichan had not been detained for extradition.

“We are currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request,” he added.

“Our experience with the Spanish justice system is that this cooperation is generally good. Dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”

Bouyakhrichan’s brother Samir, another leading member of the Mocro Maffia, was murdered in 2014 near Marbella, sparking a reorganisation of organised crime groups in the region.

The Mocro Maffia made international headlines in 2022 after it emerged that Dutch Crown Princess Amalia had been placed under heavy protection in response to fears of an attack by the group.

Dutch media reported earlier last week that the 20-year-old heir to the Dutch throne studied in Madrid after being forced to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam because of the threats.

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