Intelligence Blunders
1999 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin
Confirmed True by Darwin
(August 1999, Manila) A deadly explosion in the Philippines' National
Bureau of Investigation was linked to careless NBI agents smoking near a
bucketful of dynamite powder. Remnants of hand grenades, bullets, and weapons were
scattered far and wide.
The powerful blast gouged a crater beneath the NBI annex, shattered third-floor windows near by, and killed seven people including the cigarette-smoking perpetrators.
The bucket, stored in the NBI annex for over a year, represented a surprising failure to safeguard seized evidence. Added to this mental lapse is the image of carefree smokers crushing out their smoldering butts in a pail of dynamite powder. Group Darwin Award!
