Sensitive, security-related information and personal data of soldiers from units stationed on Poland’s eastern flank were discovered among illegally dumped trash on private property. The waste was most likely discarded by employees of a company that had been renovating army buildings. The company’s owner, however, had already been detained on criminal charges. The Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) did not answer whether it had vetted him before the company signed a contract with the army.
This is yet another media report about military documents ending up in the trash. Recently, editors received maps of military depots, evacuation plans for explosives in the event of war, operational procedures, technical descriptions of explosive-storage facilities, personal data of unit employees, and plans showing the deployment of one unit during exercises.
Journalists recalled an incident from a year ago that may now reach its conclusion. The owner of a plot in Suwałki, before beginning construction work there, found illegally dumped waste. While searching through the bags to identify the culprit, he stumbled upon soldiers’ personal data. It turned out that the documents belonged to units based in Orzysz and Węgorzewo.
Following the Trail
The landowner was primarily concerned with cleaning his property of someone else’s waste. A nearby military unit admitted that the trash came from its facilities, where renovation work was under way. The soldiers, however, denied responsibility, blaming the contractor. Contact with the company proved difficult, as its owner, Arkadiusz K., was in pre-trial detention facing criminal charges.
Colonel Sławomir Łakomiec, commander of the 16th Sapper Regiment in Orzysz, confirmed in a letter to Suwałki police that the soldiers listed on a sheet of paper found at the site served in his unit. According to the Onet.pl portal, the officer also informed investigators that the renovation company — which was also supposed to handle the waste — was owned by Arkadiusz K. The colonel added that Arkadiusz K. had been authorized to enter the military base.
When asked about the contractor, the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) remained tight-lipped. In response to questions about whether Arkadiusz K. had been counterintelligence-screened, whether he could ensure safe execution of the military project, and whether his criminal record had been checked, the SKW replied only that it “does not provide information regarding the scope, methods, or assumptions of its operational tasks.”
A Bizarre Situation
For the landowner, the problem of the trash on his property remained unresolved. The waste continued to lie on his plot, preventing him from beginning construction work. Eventually, he opened more bags filled with documents — among them “diagrams of weapon construction, outlines of military training exercises, soldiers’ completed tests, and an A4 sheet listing 29 soldiers.” Unlike the first list of 14 names, which contained military ranks and reference numbers, this one included full names and phone numbers.