FSB Intercepts Booby-Trapped Perfume Bottles Sent to Russian Officers

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) intercepted perfume bottles rigged with explosives sent to military officers, preventing planned attacks, according to the agency's Public Relations Center on March 13.

FSB officers discovered five parcels containing homemade explosive devices disguised as gift perfume sets during inspections at Chelyabinsk airport. Bomb disposal experts defused the devices, which were designed to detonate when the packages were opened.

A Russian citizen born in 2003 was detained for allegedly sending the packages to military personnel and officials in Moscow, Voronezh, the Krasnodar Territory, and the Saratov Region. The FSB said the individual was recruited by Ukrainian special services and carried out the operation for financial compensation.

Authorities also found four more homemade bombs hidden in Chelyabinsk, intended for delivery to military personnel in the Tver, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kaluga regions.

A criminal case has been opened under Article 222.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, concerning the illegal acquisition, storage, and transportation of explosive devices.

On March 3, the FSB reported neutralizing a Central Asian native planning bomb attacks on the Moscow metro and a synagogue using homemade explosives.

This incident recalls Israeli Mossad’s booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies sent to Hezbollah in 2024 and a similar case involving Russia. Between January and February 2025, unknown groups sent about 80 Skyzone Cobra FPV goggles to Russian Armed Forces units, with all shipments from the same donor. Eight Russian drone operators lost their eyesight after explosions between February 4 and 7 in Belgorod, Kursk, Luhansk, and Donetsk. Investigations found C-4 explosives hidden in the goggles, triggered by the cooling fan. Authorities are searching for more devices, while the alleged sender reportedly left Russia for Istanbul on February 3.

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