Stolen Romanian Warheads Recovered

Posted July 19th, 2011 at 9:00 am (UTC-5)
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Dozens of old rocket warheads stolen from a train carrying military equipment from Romania to Bulgaria were recovered Monday near a railway station in the southern Romanian town of Chitila.

Railway workers found four crates containing 64 warheads were missing Saturday, after discovering the seals of a railway car were broken when the train arrived in the town of Giurgui (Romania), near the border with Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's economy ministry said the warheads belonged to Grad missiles which are normally fired from multiple-rocket launchers. In a statement, the ministry said the shipment from Romania to Bulgaria was part of a transfer of “nonfunctional components and parts” for reprocessing at a weapons factory.

When the theft was discovered, authorities said the 64 warheads posed no danger to the public because they were shipped separately from the rockets.

Bulgaria and Romania are members of the NATO military alliance and the European Union.