The threat was taken seriously. Production was halted, nearly 300 people were evacuated, and bomb-disposal services were called in. No bomb was found.
The man has already been charged. The mine alone initially estimates its losses at approximately PLN 500,000.
The ill-fated call—now attributed to 51-year-old Włodzimierz N. of Głogów—was made at 2:57 a.m. during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. He called the plant’s switchboard from a withheld number and hung up after a brief message. As a consequence of the bomb threat, the management of the “Rudna” Mining Plant decided to evacuate employees working underground and administrative staff, approximately 300 people in total. Miners reporting for the next shift were also denied entry to the plant premises. The incident was reported to the police headquarters in Polkowice and to the Internal Security Agency in Warsaw.
A reconnaissance and bomb-disposal team from the Polkowice police headquarters, firefighters from Legnica, and handlers with explosive-detection dogs from the police headquarters in Zielona Góra were sent to the site, along with units of the Border Guard from Wrocław Airport. The activities carried out by these services revealed no explosive devices on the plant premises.
The police promptly established that Włodzimierz N. had called the mine. The man was arrested on April 7, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. However, due to his health condition, he was taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Lubin. On Saturday morning, when procedural activities involving the suspect could finally be carried out, the prosecutor charged Włodzimierz N. in the hospital ward.
N. is suspected of having telephoned an employee of the “Rudna” Mining Plant in Polkowice and reported that unspecified explosive devices had been planted in the area of shaft R1, while knowing that no such danger existed. The offense carries a penalty of up to eight years’ imprisonment.
Włodzimierz N., questioned as a suspect, partially admitted to committing the offense. However, he claimed that in a conversation with one of the shift supervisors he had only said that the plant should be blown up because of the disorder there, referring to the fact that he had not been paid the coal allowance due to him for the past several months.
During the proceedings, it was established that such a conversation had indeed taken place that night. There is no doubt, however, that the suspect later also called the plant’s switchboard and reported that a bomb had been planted. Given the circumstances accompanying the transmission of the information, it was capable of causing the plant management justified concern and creating a need to order an evacuation.
Włodzimierz N.’s apartment was searched. No explosive devices were found there. Recordings of the conversations were secured.
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Głogów, which is supervising the proceedings, applied to the court for Włodzimierz N.’s temporary detention, citing concerns that he might obstruct the investigation or go into hiding, as well as his previous conviction for an offense against life and health. The court did not order detention, finding that the most important evidence had been secured and that the risk of the suspect going into hiding was remote. The prosecutor, disagreeing with the decision, decided to appeal it.
The “Rudna” Mining Plant, owned by KGHM “Polska Miedź” S.A., initially estimated the losses caused, among other things, by the halt in extraction, the evacuation, and employee transportation costs at approximately PLN 500,000.
The prosecutor also asked the institutions that had taken action to eliminate the potential threat to provide the costs of the operations carried out on April 7. In addition to imprisonment, the prosecutor will certainly seek compensation from Włodzimierz N. for the damage caused by the offense.
Liliana Łukasiewicz, performing the duties of spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii