Key Evidence....The Vallecas Bomb

The only unexploded bomb recovered intact from the trains, it is called the “Vallecas” bomb because the police station where it was discovered is located in the Madrid district of the same name. The real importance of this bomb, and what makes it a major target for the conspiracy theorists, is that the mobile telephone used as a timer for the device led to the first arrests made in the aftermath of the attacks. The sports bag in which it was found also contained a significant quantity of explosive, Goma 2 Eco, as well as shrapnel consisting of nails and screws. This does not mean that it is by any means the only important evidence in the case against the accused, but it has significance in that it was the first decisive lead for the police investigation.

The bomb was not detected on the day of the attacks itself, but was found in the early hours of the next morning as police officers in the Vallecas police station checked personal effects that had been recovered from a train where bombs exploded at the station of El Pozo del Tio Raimundo. The discovery was made by two police officers, identified by their service numbers 88.163 and 79.046.

Now, bearing in mind that the conspiracy theorists want to pretend that the attack was carried out by ETA in collusion with unidentified elements close to the current Spanish government, and that the explosive used was not Goma 2 Eco, the existence of the Vallecas bomb presents a major obstacle to their theories. They have devoted considerable effort to trying to insinuate that it must have been planted. Lacking any evidence at all to sustain this outlandish notion, they do what all good conspiracy theorists would do in such a situation and attempt to create a version of the events which would permit the mere possibility of someone having planted the bomb; and then act as if they have proved their case. There are two main planks to the conspiracy theorist case, firstly comes an attempt to suggest that the bomb could never have been on the trains. The second part of the case rests on attempts to show that bag containing the bomb was not under permanent police custody during the day of the bombings, meaning that “someone” could have planted it with the fake evidence needed to cover up the true authorship of the train bombings.