tvn24.pl journalists found that the State Protection Service found a locator of unknown origin in a car belonging to the Chancellery of the President. SOP officers discovered him this summer. We asked the prosecutor’s office about the case, but we did not receive an answer. On Wednesday, PAP, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that proceedings in this case have been ongoing since June this year in the Silesian organized crime department of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
The SOP officer explained in an interview with tvn24.pl that pyrotechnicians, in accordance with procedures, checked whether there was an explosive charge planted in the car that was supposed to be in the head of state’s convoy.
The car could drive with the tracker for several months
– Pyrotechnicians noticed a strange device attached to the car. It was a tracker. It boiled over because it was not known who installed this device. It turned out that this car could have been driven with this device for several months and during that time it was often included in the president’s party, including during his trips to Ukraine – said our informant. He said that the case had been reported to the Internal Security Agency.
According to tvn24.pl sources, a car with a tracker could be used in SOP for up to several months. The president did not travel in this car.
President Andrzej DudaLeszek Szymański/PAP
The services are silent
We asked the Press Office of the Chancellery of the President about the matter, which replied that it “does not comment on issues related to ensuring the security of the President of the Republic of Poland.” The office wrote that the SOP is responsible for “ensuring direct protection” of the head of state.
So we asked the SOP. Col. Bogusław Piórkowski replied briefly: “The State Protection Service carries out the tasks specified in the Act of December 8, 2017 on the State Protection Service. Article 63(1) ensures protection of the forms and methods of the tasks performed by the formation.”
The press service of the Internal Security Agency was also cloaked in secrecy.
We also asked the prosecutor’s office whether it had received any notification from the services in this case. We did not receive an answer.
PAP: proceedings since June conducted by the prosecutor’s office and the Internal Security Agency
On Wednesday, the Polish Press Agency, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that proceedings in this case have been conducted since June by the prosecutor’s office and the Internal Security Agency. PAP reported that proceedings were initiated shortly after the device was found. The case was referred to the Silesian organized crime department of the National Prosecutor’s Office. This is due to the fact that the locator was revealed during the president’s visit to the Silesian Voivodeship. According to PAP information, the circumstances of placing the locating device have not been established so far, and various hypotheses are being investigated.
On Wednesday afternoon, PAP asked the press services of the National Prosecutor’s Office for information on the ongoing proceedings. The PK representative asked for an e-mail with questions, promising a response the next day.
Earlier, information about the ongoing investigation was reported by RMF.
Main photo source: Leszek Szymański/PAP