Man charged after IED sent in post to London home
Ovidijus Margelis, 26, was arrested by counter-terror police but the devices were allegedly part of a fraud scam
A man has been charged after an explosive device was posted to a home in London as part of an alleged scam to obtain refunds from retailers.
Ovidijus Margelis, 26, is accused of three counts of attempting to cause an explosion, fraud by false representation, possession of an article for use in fraud, possession of a false identity document and money laundering.
The student, who is Lithuanian, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The hearing was told that Mr Margelis is accused of posting packages with an improvised explosive device attached, made to burn through the delivery labels.
This would mean they could not be delivered and the vendor such as Amazon or PayPal would provide a refund.
Mr Margelis was arrested by counter-terror police in Cambridge on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police said the arrest related to a suspicious package that was received via post at a residential address in Cricklewood on Thursday.
Specialist officers made a “small improvised explosive device” safe and said there was no risk to the local community. Two other devices were later found.
Margelis, a third year business management student at Anglia Ruskin University, is due to appear in the same court on 21 September.