Fake metro bomb stolen by passenger

A police unit in charge of patrolling Moscow’s metro has been seriously reprimanded after failing to spot a hoax bomb.

The bomb, a bar of soap with a mobile phone attached to it, was left inside a plastic bag at one of the stations, as a training exercise.

The police officers on duty that day simply ignored the suspicious item. Later, those conducting the check could not recover the fake bomb, as a passenger had made off with it.

Similar tests take place regularly in the metro system.

Following a 2010 attack on the metro, City Hall decided to spend more than 60 million rubles on making the metro safer. The authorities installed 140 high-tech security scanners at all stations around the metro’s circle line.

Another 112 scanners were installed in St. Petersburg’s subway, while the Kazan underground is expected to get brand new security systems by 2013. All Moscow stations are to be equipped with security cameras by 2014.

The country’s rail carrier is also planning to spend over $125 million on improving safety and protecting its network from terrorist attacks. It represents an almost five-fold increase compared with the initial outlay for 2011.

The money will be spent on CCTV cameras, metal detectors and checkpoints at railway stations in Moscow and southern Russia.

Russian Railways is also set to boost safety on the high-speed links between the capital, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Helsinki.

The railways have been a frequent target of terrorist attacks in recent years. The bombing of the Nevsky Express in 2009 killed 28 people.