We walk into Semtex factory

A GAPING hole in security at the world's biggest Semtex factory is today exposed by the Sunday Mirror.

Our investigators were able to walk into top-secret production and storage areas unchallenged from a public street.

They could have walked away with dozens of kilos of the terrorists' favourite plastic explosive - used by al-Qaeda, the IRA and the Lockerbie bombers - without anyone noticing.

The factory - owned by arms company Synthesia - is the world's biggest producer of Semtex and is situated in the Czech town of Pardubice.

The lapse in security will shock NATO chiefs who have ordered a clampdown ahead of Wednesday's summit of 46 world leaders, just 50 miles away in the capital Prague.

Such is the concern about a terror attack on the 19 alliance heads of state, including George Bush, Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, that the Americans have taken charge of security. The country has been put on official red alert.

Fifteen F15 and F16 jet fighters will patrol the skies day and night for fear of an air attack.

On the ground, US secret servicemen and troops will be out in force, closing off the city to potential suicide bombers and shutting down the tube system for fear of a chemical or biological attack.

But Sunday Mirror reporters got into the Semtex factory four times in four days without any specialist knowledge or equipment.

They were able to roam around sensitive areas - including bomb- proof detonating sheds where Semtex is test-exploded and stored - within minutes.

At the factory gates a helpful worker pointed out the specific building where Semtex is made - a football-pitch sized unit with two 100ft high chimney stacks.

Our man walked through an unmanned security cordon at 8.10am as workers arrived for their shifts.

He penetrated 500 yards into the complex and spent 15 minutes looking around before coming out the same way.

Then he went over to the underground storage bunkers. With a watchtower empty, he was able to stand within yards of the detonating sheds while batches of Semtex were exploded for quality control.

The following day our investigator was able to walk through another unmanned gate right up to the unit again and leave without detection.

The factory is supposedly guarded by Czech Army NATO troops, including a special SWAT team, police and private security guards.

Over the summit period the factory has been placed under "special protection orders" and bosses have boasted that it is impossible to get into the factory.

But our investigators did not see any patrols, and guard houses were frequently unmanned.

On the third breach, our man was able to clamber over a broken fence in daylight and walk straight into where Semtex is made - workshops containing huge steel vats.

One room marked "no entry" contained pallets of phone-book sized reddish plastic. It is used in mining but is as powerful as military Semtex, which is off-white.

Close by there are rows of padlocked portakabins with warning signs for explosives on the doors. After two-and-a-half hours he was able to leave undetected - despite walking past workers.

Semtex is routinely stolen from storage depots all over the Czech Republic by workers and army personnel and sold to terrorists groups such as the IRA, who like it because it is undetectable, as versatile as plasticine and has a shelf life of up to 20 years.

A Semtex haul was recently discovered in an Afghan cave and the explosive was used in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the Nairobi US Embassy blast in 1998.

The black market price is up to pounds 1,000 per kilo. The legitimate wholesale price is pounds 4 per kilo.

Under pressure from NATO after the September 11 attacks, the Czechs re-nationalised Synthesia's parent company Explosia to stop the black market trade.

But the government proved how easy it was to steal Semtex by getting special forces to break into depots.

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