Following suspected sabotage attempts targeting the power supply in several German states, the wanted suspect has been arrested. The 48-year-old man was detained on Tuesday in the vicinity of the Weisweiler power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, as police in Cologne and the Cottbus public prosecutor’s office announced. The man was carrying additional explosives when he was arrested and offered no resistance.
Nearby, officers also discovered a tent in the undergrowth that had been equipped with additional explosive charges. Police collected evidence at the scene and searched for possible further launch devices. A bomb disposal expert was also due to examine the explosive charges. According to authorities, an arrest warrant had been issued for the 48-year-old by the Cottbus public prosecutor’s office.
The suspect from North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have claimed responsibility in letters for the attacks on substations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony. In the letters, which authorities consider authentic, he reportedly justified the attacks by criticising energy generation using fossil fuels. Police had been publicly searching for the man since Saturday, including by releasing photographs.
On Tuesday of the previous week, attacks were carried out on substations near Jänschwalde in Brandenburg and Bergheim in North Rhine-Westphalia. Devices used in the attacks were later also discovered in the North Rhine-Westphalian cities of Dormagen and Weisweiler.
Corresponding material was later also found in Saxony. According to police and network operators, the devices were used to fire conductive material with pyrotechnic projectiles into high-voltage power lines in order to cause short circuits. Investigators are examining possible connections between the incidents.
On Monday, investigators again found additional launch devices in North Rhine-Westphalia, this time near high-voltage power lines at the Weisweiler power plant. The A4 motorway was temporarily closed because of the search operation.
At the request of the Cottbus public prosecutor’s office, the suspect’s home in Gevelsberg in the Ruhr region was searched on Friday. Shortly afterwards, investigators found the 48-year-old’s vehicle in the Hambach Forest near Düren and seized evidence.
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating, among other things, suspicion of causing an explosion involving explosives and disrupting public services. Further criminal offences are also being examined. The proceedings in Cottbus concern the incident near Jänschwalde. The investigations are ongoing.
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