That Birmingham Train Heist

As was reported yesterday in The Daily Mail, train robbers in Birmingham stole a shipment of anti-tank mines from a freight train:

Powerful Anti-Tank Mines Used by British Troops in Afghanistan Are Stolen From Goods Train

A shipment of powerful anti-tank mines have been stolen from a goods train.

Thieves are thought to have snatched the mines, used by British troops in Afghanistan, when the train was forced to stop because of a body on the track.

The munitions were discovered missing when the train pulled into a station 90 miles further down the line.

Specialist counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence, have launched a hunt for the missing mines.

The rectangular bar mines contain explosives but need extra components to make them operational, said Whitehall sources.

It is understood the heist on Thursday was the work of ‘opportunists’ who broke into one of the stationary wagons unaware of the sensitive cargo, rather than a targeted raid.

But investigators are concerned that the mines, which the British Army use to blow up bridges and buildings in Helmand, could fall into the wrong hands.

The L9 Bar Mines contain explosives but need extra components to make them operational, said Whitehall sources.

The obligatory pre-formulated “no-connection-with-terrorism” mantra was uttered by the British Authorities, much as it is by their American counterparts:

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘At this stage there is nothing to suggest that the theft is terrorist-related. However due to the potential complexity of the investigation and specialist skills of officers, inquiries are being led by counter-terrorism officers.’

Our English correspondent Seneca III disagrees with some of the conclusions published in the Mail article, however. He sends this explanation why there is likely to be more to the train heist than is being published in the media:

This one is interesting for several reasons:

1.		The theft took place in Birmingham, one of our major ‘occupied territories’. If it was the enrichers then the mines are now safely deep inside a Mosque where the law fears or is not permitted to tread.
2.		Under ADR (the regulations which require how ‘Dangerous Goods’ will be packed, marked and transported) the sides of the wagon in which the mines were being transported, plus their containers/crates inside, will have been clearly and conspicuously marked ‘EXPLOSIVES’. Hence whoever lifted them knew precisely what they were getting, and it can in no way be claimed that were taken by mistake for something else, as will probably be claimed by our treacherous leadership in the event that they do turn up in Muslim hands.
3.		However, it does look like an opportunistic heist rather than a planned one as the incident that caused the train to be delayed was quite a way to the south, in Oxfordshire, and there was no way that it could be predicted as to exactly where this particular train would be stopped as result thereof.
4.		The photograph in the article is of a Soviet Anti-Tank mine, not a UK L9 Bar Mine; whether this was deliberate or simply stupid disinformation is not known, but it may confuse any potential witnesses who may have seen the mines in transit from the train to their eventual hiding place.

This is a bar Mine:

Barmine (Anti-Tank)

		Barmine (Anti-Tank) Specifications
Weight		11kg
Length		1.2m
Width		0.1m
Explosive Weight		8.4kg

The Barmine is usually mechanically laid by a plough-type trailer, which can be towed behind an AFV 432 or Warrior. The Barmines are manually placed onto a conveyor belt on the layer, from inside the APC.

The minelayer automatically digs a furrow, lays the mines into it at the correct spacing and closes the ground over them. Up to 600 mines can be laid in one hour, by one vehicle with a three-man crew.

A full width attack mine (FWAM) fuse and an anti-disturbance fuse are available for Barmine; these are secured on the ends of the mine, adjacent to the pressure plate.

And this is a Soviet TM 46 as illustrated in the DM:

Diameter:		305 mm
Height:		108 mm
Operating pressure:		120 — 400 kg (21 kg tilt pressure)
Weight:		8.6 kg
Explosive content:		5.7 kg of TNT