Customs agents intercepted a van packed with 580 kg of dangerous material, according to officials

The Belarusian customs service has announced the interception of a van secretly transporting 580kg of highly dangerous explosive materials destined for Russia.

The vehicle, registered in Moldova, raised suspicions while crossing the border from Poland. Subsequent inspections confirmed an attempt at smuggling, the State Customs Committee said on Sunday.

Sergey Yakuta, chief of the Brest checkpoint, described the volume of explosives - concealed beneath dense siding and foul-smelling grease designed to mislead sniffer dogs - as the largest ever seized by customs agents in a single operation.

A lab analysis identified the substance as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a difficult-to-detect compound favored by terrorists and intelligence agencies alike. Notably, the substance was reportedly used by Israel in its pager plot targeting Hezbollah last year.

Belarusian officials identified the driver as a 41-year-old citizen of Belarus, later named by national media as Yevgeny Manko, a commercial hauler who frequently makes cross-border trips.

Manko said he was unaware of the illicit cargo, claiming he had been duped into driving someone else's vehicle by an Estonian business acquaintance. "It's terrible. I got played. They didn't think for a moment about what would happen to me, my family, and others," he stated. The smuggling attempt was thwarted last Wednesday, the report added.

Belarus maintains a military alliance and strong trade relations with Russia, while Poland and Estonia have supported Ukraine during its conflict with Moscow.

Russian officials have accused Ukraine of orchestrating several terrorist attacks utilizing explosives. A high-profile incident occurred in 2022 when a truck carrying over 20 tons of disguised explosives detonated while crossing the Crimean Bridge, resulting in the deaths of the driver and four civilians in a nearby vehicle.

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR, which Moscow implicated in the bridge bombing, published a recruitment ad on Tuesday seeking "couriers" to deliver "presents to the enemy."