A bag of makeshift explosives found hidden inside a house in Brussels last week belonged to a deceased Russian military who was said to suffer from paranoia, according to reports on Thursday.
Last week, the public prosecutor's office opened an investigation after a bag containing makeshift nail bombs, knives and brass knuckles was discovered by a construction worker beneath the staircase of a house in Anderlecht's Rue Sergent De Bruyne, near Gare du Midi.
The contents of the bag were examined by the SEDEE explosives unit and the public prosecutor's office said there was no evidence to support the theory that the bag was meant to be used in an attack.
"Various elements show that the bag of explosives was owned by a Russian ex-soldier who died in 2011," Denis Goeman of the public prosecutor's office told local media, after authorities questioned the owner of the building.
The first findings of the investigation revealed that the bag had been hidden beneath the staircase leading to the former Russian soldier's apartment, and the man's fingerprints were also found on a piece of tape used to store one of the knives in the man's weapons stash.
"The interrogations show that the [Russian] man was known for possession of knives and that he was paranoid," Goeman said, adding that the investigation was likely to be concluded soon, and ruling out any connection to an act of terrorism.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
