Suicide bomb 'may have been cannabis press'

An apparent cannabis enthusiast has provided what could be a key clue to Swedish investigators who had previously been stumped by a cylindrical object found near the body of the Stockholm suicide bomber.

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On a number of websites featuring equipment for cannabis users there is a product which looks strikingly similar to a small metal cylinder found near Taimour Adulwahab after he blew himself up in central Stockholm in December.

"It's quite possible that it will end up helping us in the investigation," Sirpa Franzén, a spokesperson with the Swedish security service Säpo, told The Local in reference to a recent tip about the similarities.

Despite nearly three months of investigative work and assistance from FBI bomb experts flown in from the United States, the origins of the small pipe have remained a mystery to Säpo investigators.

In an effort to gain some insight into the mysterious object, Säpo sent images of the cylinder to all the local police districts in Sweden with a request for help in identifying it.

Explosives expert Bo Janzon, a professor at Mälardalen University, told the Aftonbladet newspaper that the small cylinder could hold 30-40 grammes of explosive material.

"It's like a little hand grenade," he told the newspaper.

Investigators hoped that determining what the cylinder is, where it was manufactured, and where it was purchased, could provide more answers in their ongoing investigation into Adulwahab's movements before the bombing.

"Our very intensive investigation continues, and we're still following up leads about possible accomplices and the work that went into the preparation of the act," said Franzén.

And following a report about the mysterious cylinder in Aftonbladet, Säpo investigators may be one step closer to solving the riddle about the small pipe.

The story about the unidentified cylinder, which was also reported in Norwegian media, yielded a flood of tips, including one from someone who theorised that the small tube was actually a piece of equipment popular with cannabis users.

According to the tipster, the small metal pipe found near Adulwahab looks very much like a pollen press, a device used to compact dried resin extracted from cannabis plants.

According to the marijuana enthusiast website bakedlife.com, a pollen press, also known as a kief press, is something "every stoner should get" as it helps turn powder from ground up marijuana plants into a "convenient and smokeable mini brick".

Franzén said the tip about the possible pollen press connection to the Stockholm suicide bomber was "one of many" that came in following media reports about the mysterious pipe.

However, she refused to speculate on the likelihood that the Stockholm bomber's pipe bomb may in fact be a common piece of equipment with marijuana users.

"It's one of many parts of a very comprehensive investigation," said Franzén, adding that investigators have collected over 1,000 tips and conducted 700 interviews related to the bombing.