A spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Poznan, Poland said four Polish army officers face charges of neglect of duty after the army lost track of 240 TM-62M anti-tank landmines in July. They were found in a railway wagon near a warehouse belonging to Swedish furniture retailer IKEA in Orla, close to the border with Belarus, more than a week later.
It was alleged that the errors occurred because untrained soldiers were used to unload the consignment and were pressured to complete the task quickly to avoid additional charges for the rented railway wagons. Other reports say that two of those who were considered to be directly responsible, Col. Piotr Korneluk and Col. Robert Skrzątek, had already applied to leave the army. The other two suspected of involvement have not yet been named.
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“The suspects are four soldiers, the case concerns neglect of duty regarding the unloading of a transport of munitions... [for which they face] up to five years imprisonment,” the prosecutor’s statement said on Thursday.
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said he had dismissed the Head of the Support Inspectorate, Maj. Gen. Artur Kępczynski, who was held responsible for losing the anti-tank mines, Polish news outlet Onet reported on Thursday, citing a post on X. Kępczyński’s responsibilities included, among other things, managing the army’s logistics support system.
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The mines were transported by rail from Hajnowka, on Poland’s eastern border between July 4-7 last year for transfer to the ammunition depot near the northern village of Mosty.
It was reported that the missing mines were part of a large consignment consisting of 1,000 tons of munitions including the anti-tank mines. It is also alleged that when the “loss” was first noticed the paperwork relating to the delivery were altered. Although the announcement of Kępczyński’s dismissal did not give the reason, local media alleged that it was likely because he had attempted to cover up the error.
A somewhat “tongue-in-cheek” report in the Wiadomosci.wp. media outlet suggested that the loss was originally only discovered when someone at the IKEA called the ministry to ask, “when they would come to collect their mines,” at which point an investigation was opened.
Malgorzata Dobies-Turulska, the chief executive of IKEA Poland, said the army picked up the mines from one of the wagons that arrived at a warehouse belonging to Ikea Industry Orla.
“The box was collected by the military police on the same day,” she said. “Cooperation with the military police went very smoothly.”
Lukasz Wawrzyniak from the Poznan prosecutor’s office said that the mines were contained in 40 boxes that were still sealed and secure when recovered. “All the elements were sealed, and they were immediately secured by the army,” he said.
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