AZF (criminal organization)
AZF is the name of one or more blackmail groups in France that had carried out unsuccessful attacks on the SNCF railway network since 2003/2004 . The acronym AZF was not explained in their letter. The group was presumably named after the AZF chemical plant in Toulouse , which was destroyed by an explosion on September 21, 2001.
Presumably as early as the end of 2003, the AZF threatened to bomb the French railway network with a demand of 4 million US dollars and 1 million euros. As a result, the 32,000 kilometers of the SNCF were searched by more than 10,000 railway workers. Following a tip from the AZF, a first bomb was found on the Paris – Toulouse route in the area of Folles (north of Limoges ) with a mixture of 2.5 kg of petrol and ammonium nitrate . The location was next to the junction of a 5 km long railway line to the uranium deposit of COGEMA in Bessines.
In March 2004 a second bomb was found in the district of Montiéramey near Troyes , on the Grand Orient forest , shortly before the AZF voluntarily renounced further actions on March 24th. Due to the different design of the bombs, however, the investigators expressed doubts about the authorship of the AZF.
In October 2004, an association called AZF filed ransom demands against several food companies such as Coca-Cola under threat of poisoning. There is no evidence that they are the same group.
On March 24, 2005, an AZF demanded money from the French government announcing attacks for May 2005. The group used a new logo and sent threatening letters with detonators to the French President's office and the Ministry of the Interior.
On April 18, 2006, another bomb was found on the TGV route near St. Sylvain d'Anjou. It could be a second type of bomb that was described in one of the letters from the first AZF group.
Individual evidence
- ↑ wiwo.de of March 25, 2004: bomb threat against French railways lifted
- ↑ stern.de Bahnerpresser "Big Wolf" pulls in the tail ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated March 26, 2004
