Irish police have released a man held over an explosives find, after Slovak authorities admitted planting them in his luggage as part of a security test. The explosives were among 8 contraband items placed with passengers at Bratislava Airport last weekend. The 49-year-old man unwittingly brought the material into Dublin when he returned from his Christmas holidays. He was arrested yesterday but has since been released without charge. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he was very concerned that Irish police had not been alerted for 3 days. Airport security detected 7 of the illicit items, but the 8th, 90g of research development explosive, managed to escape detection. The incident began on Saturday, January 2. The man was a passenger onboard DANUBE WINGS Flight 8230, a Boeing 737 on International Service from Poprad/Tatry, Slovakia, to Dublin. Slovak authorities were reportedly trying to test screening procedures for checked-in luggage by placing items with unwitting passengers. Slovak police alerted their Irish counterparts on yesterday morning, and the man's flat near the city centre was cordoned off while bomb disposal experts removed the explosives for further examination. The Irish Army said passengers had not been put in danger because the explosives were stable and not connected to any essential bomb parts. The Slovak minister for the interior has expressed his government's "profound regret" over the incident. The Irish government has ordered a full report into what transpired.
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