Suspect held in Germany after spate of sabotage attacks on power grid
The suspect had reportedly claimed responsibility for attacks on electricity substations in letters.
Suspect detained in Germany after wave of sabotage attacks on power grid
A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a series of sabotage attacks on Germany's electricity grid after spending several days on the run.
Police in Cologne said the suspect was carrying explosives when he was detained on Tuesday near the Weisweiler power plant in western Germany.
They added that a tent in nearby undergrowth was also found to have been fitted with additional explosives.
German media identified the suspect as Daniel V, and he is believed to have written letters taking responsibility for the attacks, which have occurred in Brandenburg and Saxony in the east, as well as North Rhine-Westphalia in the west.
Police said the explosives discovered during the arrest were being checked by a bomb disposal expert, while officers were also examining whether any undetected devices had been placed in the surrounding area.
Before the suspect was arrested on Tuesday, police said they had found several launch devices on high-voltage lines near the Weisweiler plant on Monday afternoon, together with "another confession letter".
A run of incidents across the grid over the past week has followed a similar pattern, with rockets used to fire wires across high-voltage cables to trigger short circuits.
Pictures of the suspect were released by police to German media outlets while he was still on the run.
The attacks have caused power-generating units at some plants to be temporarily disconnected from the grid.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the Cologne Public Prosecutor's Office and Cologne Police gave no further details about the suspect, or about the number and locations of the incidents he has been linked to.
German media have previously reported receiving two letters from the suspect claiming responsibility for the attacks. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the handwritten letters included information that had not yet been made public.
The letters were apparently signed only with the first name Daniel, while the surname was withheld in accordance with German privacy rules. They also listed a residential address in the town of Gevelsberg.
Cologne Police had earlier said it was looking for a 48-year-old suspect from the town in connection with sabotage of electrical substations in three German states. Investigators also said explosives were found during a search of the suspect's apartment.
In Saxony alone, police found 21 devices near high-voltage power lines last Friday and Saturday.
Interior Minister Armin Schuster has acknowledged that it could have caused a regional blackout, but he has warned against drawing conclusions too quickly.
"The way this deed was committed makes this case unusual, as well as the manner of the confession," he said.