Russian security and law enforcement authorities said Thursday they have thwarted a fake bomb threat allegedly organized by a private security firm.
Investigators said three members of an unidentified transportation security organization had last November installed three fake bombs under two road bridges in the city of Tver, 160 kilometers northwest of Moscow.
“They then provided fake information about an impending terrorist act by phone,” the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement.
Two men were charged with knowingly reporting a false terrorist act, a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison.
A third female suspect has reportedly fled Russia and was placed on an international wanted list.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said the group included “managers and employees” of the transportation security firm, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
Neither the FSB nor the Investigative Committee identified the organization or disclosed the woman’s role.
“The woman suspected of illegal actions was not in the territory of Russia during the incriminated period,” the FSB was quoted as saying.