The Civil Guard and the Foral Police of Navarra They have dismantled a clandestine laboratory for manufacturing explosives from the synthesis of precursor substances. The operation began as a result of the arrest of a person for an episode of ill-treatment in the family environment.
The agents proceeded to search the home of the arrested person, in which a clandestine laboratory was found with all the necessary elements for the manufacture of explosives, such as precursor substances, other chemical products also used for their preparation, in addition to small artifacts already finished, electric matches (detonators), chemical formulas and instructions and laboratory material for the synthesis of explosives (pipettes, flasks, thermometers and beakers).
The following homemade explosives could have been made with the seized products: triacetone triperoxide (TATP) (known by jihadists as the “Mother of Satan), amonal (the one used by ETA), black gunpowder and thermite; all of them very dangerous and highly destructive.
The detainee had acquired the necessary knowledge for the manufacture of explosives through manuals and video tutorials downloaded from the Internet.
They have also been located many photos and videos (carried out by himself), in which the methodology used in the manufacture and the results of the explosions of tests carried out with them are recorded, in which their destructive power is evident. Likewise, it has been possible to identify several establishments located in different Spanish provinces that, improperly, had sold the precursors to the detainee. They have subsequently been inspected and the corresponding complaints have been filed against them.
Explosives precursors are chemical substances that, from certain concentrations and mixed with each other or with other products, are likely to be used for the homemade and illicit manufacture of explosives, for which reason their trade, acquisition, possession and use are rigorously controlled. to prevent its diversion for illicit, violent or terrorist purposes. For its legal acquisition in our country, it is necessary to previously have a license granted by the Ministry of the Interior through the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO).
With this operation, not only has the explosives that the detainee tried to manufacture been prevented from being used for illicit purposes or diverted to the black market; likewise, the enormous risk to the life and physical integrity of both the detainee himself and the family members who lived with him at the home where he had the clandestine workshop has been avoided.