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| ATF Investigating Thefts of Ammonium Nitrate |
| 2003-07-18 |
| Federal agents said Friday they are investigating the theft of 1,100 pounds of an explosive chemical from construction companies in Colorado and California in the past week. I heard about Colorado, but California is new. Both thefts involve ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. In the first heist, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a nationwide alert Monday after eight 50-pound bags of an ammonium nitrate-based explosive vanished from the Pike View Quarry near Colorado Springs. Then 700 pounds of an ammonium nitrate product were stolen this week from a similar business in San Diego County, Calif., ATF agent Rich Marianos said Friday. "We’re trying to check to see if it’s similar or if we can rule out if it’s involved in our theft," Marianos said. Please do. The California theft from Tom C. Dyke Drilling and Blasting in Alpine, about 30 miles east of San Diego, happened Sunday or Monday, San Diego County sheriff’s officials said. Thieves forced their way into a locked trailer and took 14 50-pound bags. Authorities have not named any suspects in the thefts. A half-dozen homes and businesses in the Colorado Springs area have been searched. "There really hasn’t been much concrete information to go on in this case," Colorado Springs police Lt. Skip Arms said. "There’s equally the possibility it was somebody who had a legitimate blasting job and didn’t want to pay for the chemicals to someone with bad intentions." My money is on #2, Skip. Authorities had said the material stolen in Colorado was already mixed with fuel oil and had a strong diesel fuel odor. They were not immediately able to say whether the ammonium nitrate that vanished in California was also part of a mixture. |
| Posted by:Steve |