Parcel taken to dairy turns out to be bomb

Thought package was a gift, man says

Local and federal authorities are investigating after an employee of a Little Rock dairy-processing plant went to work Wednesday morning with a package that turned out to be a bomb.

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Little Rock emergency personnel and agents from the FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded shortly after 8 a.m. to Hiland Dairy at 6901 Interstate 30. Bounthavy Khampraseut, 69, had taken a device for the plant's maintenance and mechanical workers to inspect, and the workers soon realized it was a homemade explosive, according to Little Rock Fire Capt. Jason Weaver.

Authorities evacuated a building on the north side of the 8.1-acre property while a bomb squad secured the device. Weaver said the scene was cleared, and employees returned to work about 10 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

Weaver said Khampraseut, who has a Hensley address, told authorities that he arrived home from work Tuesday afternoon and found a package addressed to him in his driveway. Written on the package was the first name of its purported sender.

Inside, there was a basket containing a "piece of household equipment" with an electrical plug, Weaver said. When Khampraseut plugged in the device, it tripped his home's circuit breaker. He began taking apart the device with the help of a friend to look for the possible source of the malfunction, Weaver said.

What Khampraseut found inside "looked odd," and he decided to take it to work for a second opinion, Weaver said. After a brief inspection, his co-workers decided to call police.

Khampraseut said he initially thought the package was a gift, said police spokesman Lt. Sidney Allen.

Employees showed cellphone pictures of the device to fire officials at Hiland Dairy. Bomb technicians then secured the homemade explosive and discovered that tinkering by Khampraseut or his co-workers effectively had deactivated it.

"The way it was designed to function was through [alternating current] power," Weaver said. "But they had already cut the end off the plug on the cord. So for the most part, it had been rendered safe prior to our arrival."

Further details on the device were not released. Authorities were examining the homemade explosive for fingerprints, Weaver said. They also were interviewing Khampraseut's friends, family and co-workers to determine the credibility of his story.

No charges had been filed in the case late Wednesday.

Debra Green, spokesman for the FBI in Little Rock, said the agency was involved in only the initial response to the incident. The ATF is leading an investigation, she said.

Calls to the ATF in Little Rock were not returned Wednesday.

Hiland Dairy supervisors referred all questions to federal authorities.

Metro on 12/25/2014

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