Airport evacuated after thieves leave suspicious bag

Authorities evacuated parts of an airport in south-western Sweden today after masked gunmen robbed a passenger plane that had just landed from London and left a suspicious package that police said looked like a bomb.

Stunned passengers waiting to disembark the Scandinavian Airlines jet witnessed the brazen robbery at the Landvetter airport outside Goteborg, Sweden’s second largest city.

At least five robbers, some armed with assault rifles, crashed through a gate at the airport and held up luggage handlers as they were unloading crates of foreign currency from the plane, police spokeswoman Maria Rosenberg said. No one was injured.

The robbers left a suspicious package on the tarmac, prompting police to evacuate parts of the airport and call in bomb disposal experts to investigate.

“We suspect it may be a bomb,” Rosenberg said.

The robbers sped off in two vehicles – a Volvo and a Jeep – and spread nails on the road to block police from pursuing them, she said.

Both vehicles were found burned a few miles from the airport.

A police helicopter and several patrol cars were searching for the robbers, Rosenberg said, adding that passengers and other witnesses were being questioned.

It was not immediately known how much money the robbers stole, but Rosenberg said it was “a big sum.”

SAS Cargo spokesman Ulrik Marschall confirmed that the thieves stole cargo being transported by the company on the flight from London, but would not give details.

“It was valuable, that is all I know,” he said.

SAS Cargo is part of the SAS travel group which owns a number of airlines, including the main carrier Scandinavian Airlines.

The robbery was similar to a 2002 heist at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport in which gunmen stole about £3m in foreign currency being unloaded from a plane.

Several suspects were arrested in that case, but all were released due to lack of evidence.