STOCKHOLM, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — Sweden will conduct further crime scene investigations into suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office said here on Friday.
“I have decided to, together with the security police, carry out a number of additional investigations at the crime scene,” says chief prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist in a press release.
“At our request, the Armed Forces have decided to assist in the investigations. The Armed Forces have the resources and the competence needed to investigate the crime scene in the way we want,” he says.
The pipelines, built to transport gas from Russia to Germany, were damaged by suspected explosions in late September, after which four leaks were discovered in the Swedish and Danish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Baltic Sea.
In early October, an area around one of the leak sites in Sweden’s economic zone was cordoned off before the Swedish navy deployed a ship to help with a crime scene investigation, and Swedish authorities have said the findings strengthened suspicions that the blasts were a form of gross sabotage.
“We are cooperating with the authorities in other countries,” Ljungqvist said without giving further details.
Sweden has rejected Russia’s demand to share the results of the crime scene investigation with Moscow, citing pre-trial confidentiality.
Source: sn.dk