Mail Bomb Intercepted at East Midland Airport, England Was Scheduled to Explode Over U.S. Soil

Two powerful bombs were hidden inside printer cartridge in a printer and shipped to addresses in Chicago. One of the bombs was intercepted at England’s East Midlands Airport and the other bomb was discovered at a FedEx facility in Dubai.

A forensic investigation determined the bomb on the UPS aircraft was timed to detonate 6-7 hours after it left the U.K airport.

According to British police authorities, the UPS cargo plane intercepted in England left the United Kingdom without the deadly package at 3:20 a.m. GMT on Oct. 29 (11:20 p.m. EDT on Oct. 28), two hours after landing and inspection. The device was timed to be activated at 9:30 a.m. GMT (5:30 a.m. EDT).

The printer cartridges were filled with PETN, an industrial explosive that, when X-rayed, would resemble the cartridges’ ink powder.