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640 pounds of dynamite stolen from Pennsylvania worksite

Posted at 7:47 PM, Apr 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-19 08:23:24-04

Lancaster Co., PA (WPMT) — Hundreds of pounds of explosives — stolen.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is asking for the public’s help after hundreds of explosives were taken from one of the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Construction sites in Lancaster County over the weekend.

The ATF is reporting that 704 pounds of dynamite and 400 blasting caps were stolen over the weekend.

“You know if it is in the wrong hands, it’s a problem,” said Don Robinson, ATF special agent.

Special agent, Don Robinson tells FOX43 the explosives, which were stored in a secured truck trailer that was left on site Friday.

Construction workers didn’t notice things were missing until Monday, when they saw the trailer locks were missing.

“We’re worried why it was stolen, and who it was stolen by and what they would use it for,” added Robinson.

The explosives, which are commonly used in mining and construction are highly explosive and are causing major concerns with the ATF.

“Explosives can cause a lot of damage when used improperly so we just want to avoid that,” said Robinson. “It should only be handled by trained professionals and anybody else that is out there that comes across it and wants to play with it, these are not firecrackers, this is not fireworks, these are high explosives used in the industry and if you don’t know what you are doing you could hurt yourself, or more importantly, someone else,” added Robinson.

Here’s what to look for: Explosives may come in a variety of bright colors —they come in bright colors like yellow and orange and may come in a sausage-like packaging.

“It’s going to be something large enough to load 12-15 cases in, the cases come in 40 to 50 pound cases, so you know it wouldn’t fit in a small hatchback or something, it would be at least a pick up truck or van,” added Robinson.

If caught, stealing explosives comes with federal consequences.

The person responsible could face up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 or more in fines.

“It’s a lot of explosives, I am not going to kid you, it’s not just a cartridge or two its a number of cases so we want to get a hold of this stuff and get it back,” said Robinson.

The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the recovery of the stolen explosives or the arrest of those responsible.

If you have any information, contact ATF at: 1-888-ATF-BOMB (1-888-283-2662).