Accidental Terrorist: Missing French Explosive

[asian1]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4069785.stm

Plastic explosives were mistakenly loaded onto a plane at a Paris airport after security officials lost track of it during an exercise, police say.  Around 150 grams (about five ounces) of explosive were slipped into the bag of a passenger during sniffer dog training at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.  The bag ended up on one of 90 flights leaving at the time, and police are now trying to track it down.
They stress the explosive is "no more dangerous than a bar of chocolate".
But airlines, airports and police forces around the world have been alerted.  It was a routine exercise that went wrong. An embarrassment but not, French police insist, dangerous.  The package of explosive was put in a bag at the airport on Friday to see if police dogs could detect it. Someone though took their eye off the ball and the baggage handler unwittingly put the bag on a plane.  Police say they do not know which plane the bag ended up on; about 90 flights were leaving the airport at the time.  Police insist the package of explosives is no more harmful than a chocolate bar - it has no detonator and does not react to movement, shock or even fire.  But they do concede that somewhere in the world, one of the thousands of passengers who passed through the airport will get a nasty surprise when they open their luggage. It could be on an internal flight in France, or be travelling as far away as the US, Japan and Brazil.

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PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES
Resembles putty and can be moulded by hand
Best known is Semtex, designed in Czechoslovakia
Made for landmine clearance and industrial work
Was undetectable by dogs and airport security devices

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Imagine the face of the poor passenger caught with the explosives!
"I swear!! I DO NOT KNOW anything about the package!!"  

Or if the passenger arrived at home with the explosive, the passenger  may think that someone had misplaced wax toys and give it to the children!

What happen if the passenger sell the package to criminal / terrorist group?

Is the leader of the French Police Team Inspector Clouseau? :-)

http://inspectorclouseau.com/

Are the airport security staff former employees of  Thendic? :-)

[Karlos]

Is the leader of the French Police Team Inspector Clouseau? :-)

There is a burm in the building... :lol:

[PMC]

asian1 wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4069785.stm

They stress the explosive is "no more dangerous than a bar of chocolate".

??

[odin]

PMC wrote:
??

What? Have you never heard of the explosive qualities of chocolate?

[asian1]

>See Daily Record (UK):

WHERE EEZ OUR BERMB?
French cops' airport boob - By Michael Christie
IT is a mistake worthy of hapless Inspector Clouseau.
Like a scene from Peter Sellers's comedy capers, bungling French police training airport sniffer dogs put plastic explosives into a passenger's bag and then lost track of it.
The unsuspecting flier from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris may have carried it as far as Japan, Brazil, the South Pacific or the United States, unaware of the deadly package slipped into their luggage.
Unlike fans of Sellers's Pink Panther films, however, security at the traveller's destination will find nothing to laugh at if they unzip a bag and find up to 150 grams of plastic explosives.

>Chocolate
Probably they cover the C4 stick with Chocolate?  :-)

What happen if there is an electric spark from the passenger's laptop /electric shaver / clothes inside the bag during turbulence? (static electric)

What happen if the passenger throw the package to the garbage bin and the garbage is burned in a incinerator?

[Karlos]

odin wrote:

PMC wrote:
??

What? Have you never heard of the explosive qualities of chocolate?

Yes. It detonates inside the body, gradually ballooning it over time :-D

[PMC]

odin wrote:

PMC wrote:
??

What? Have you never heard of the explosive qualities of chocolate?

Perhaps something like:

"The Parisian authorities stress that the explosives are no more dangerous than a partially digested mutton vindaloo"?

[Karlos]

@asian1

IIRC, C4 needs to be detonated. You can burn it, play football with it etc. It will only explode if triggered by a sharp concussion (typically originating inside a block of it), such as you'd get from a detonator.

I think they were pretty stupid to suggest it was as dangerous as chocolate. I can't imagine 150g of C4 doing you much good if you ate it :lol:

[Fade]

I wonder what's worse? The 5 ounces of C4 that airport security lost in France, or the 1000 airport security uniforms and 100 security badges that Canada lost.

[the_leander]

Or the discovery by a member of public the security plans for Mussharaff whilst he was over here... Just floating around on the streets..

Like many of these things its all a case of luck (Or lack theirof).

[whabang]

Fade wrote:
I wonder what's worse? The 5 ounces of C4 that airport security lost in France, or the 1000 airport security uniforms and 100 security badges that Canada lost.

It would be even worse of the same people were responsible. :-o