The Civil Guard has arrested a ‘youtuber’ with more than a million subscribers for illegally manufacturing explosives that he taught how to make in video tutorials on his channel on that social network, in which he showed “step by step” the process of elaboration and their destructive effects.
Within the framework of this operation, called ‘Sputnik’, the agents have dismantled the clandestine workshop in Castro Urdiales where explosive and incendiary mixtures were made (such as chloratite, gunpowder or thermite), and have seized more than 20 kilos of products.
The arrested person used chemical substances and precursors and in one of his demonstrations he destroyed a fire-risk vehicle in a nearby forest mass, as reported this Friday by the armed institute in a press release.
He has been arrested for alleged crimes of illegal manufacturing of explosives, risk caused by explosives and other agents, risk of fire in a forest area and, finally, disobedience to an agent of authority.
He was dedicated to the illegal manufacture of explosive and incendiary mixtures and devices based on precursors and other chemical substances and, at the same time, he recorded video tutorials showing the process of their preparation and their destructive effects. He later published all the content on his YouTube channel, which has more than a million subscribers.
“In total, he uploaded more than 60 videos in which he not only explained in detail the process for making explosive and incendiary mixtures and devices, but also artisanal weapons such as a flamethrower,” explained the Civil Guard.
Investigation
The investigation began when specialists in arms and explosives trafficking from the Benemérita Information Service detected the illicit content that was being published on this YouTube channel, which posed a serious risk to public safety due to the danger that some of the millions of followers who had watched the tutorial videos tried to make these explosives for illicit purposes, even by people linked to violent, radical or terrorist organizations.
In fact, in 2022, within the framework of operation ‘Boxes’, an individual was arrested in the province of Pontevedra for illegal manufacturing of explosives, who was finally sentenced to one year and six months in prison for these events. The analysis of that individual’s computer devices revealed that to manufacture the explosives that were seized, he had followed the video tutorials published by the now-detained ‘youtuber’.
The arrested person recorded video tutorials on the manufacture of explosives on a farm owned by his family located in a place close to a residential area, an industrial estate and a forest area, with the “real danger” of accidental explosion and the consequent risk. for his own life, that of his relatives and his neighbors, of material damage and the fire that this entails.
The Civil Guard warns that the videos published on its YouTube channel could be used by third parties to make their own mixtures and homemade devices, and even by terrorist or criminal organizations to perpetrate violent actions, with the serious risk that this entails for citizen security. , especially when his videos have more than 106 million views.
30 kilos of incendiary mixture
To prepare one of the recently published videos, he manufactured more than 30 kilos of incendiary mixture called ‘thermite’, which he immediately afterwards used to completely destroy a vehicle on a farm he owned, near a forest area of high ecological value. , with the obvious risk of fire that this entailed; also denying access to the fire crews who came to put out the fire. These latest events motivated the start of a parallel investigation by SEPRONA of Cantabria.
The aforementioned incendiary ‘thermite’ mixture is extremely dangerous, reaching a temperature of more than 2,500 degrees Celsius that is capable of melting any type of metal, which is why it is used from legal applications such as welding and joining railway rails to uses illegal activities such as opening doors in safes and vaults.
In another of his videos he explained how to make homemade Napalm and a flamethrower with which to use it, demonstrating the effectiveness and scope of the device.
clandestine workshop
After the investigation, it was possible to identify the author of said videos and locate the place where he had installed the clandestine workshop where he manufactured these explosive and pyrotechnic mixtures, and the farm where he recorded the videos.
In total, two entries and searches have been carried out in these places and more than 20 kilos of chemicals for the illegal manufacture of explosives have been seized, as well as various computer material for study.
Given the dangerous nature of the chemicals involved, the Civil Guard’s Explosive Deactivation Technicians (TEDAX) had to act, taking charge of them for analysis and destruction. So far this year, the Information Service of the Civil Guard has carried out six operations against the illegal manufacture of explosives based on precursors.
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