Search for power grid saboteur expanded: 21 devices discovered in Saxony
Police are conducting widespread searches in North Rhine-Westphalia for a 48-year-old from Gevelsberg who is suspected of carrying out attacks on the power grid. In Saxony, 21 home-made launch devices were found.
Large-scale operation in NRW: police hunt suspected climate saboteur
Following a series of attacks on electricity infrastructure in several German states, police have significantly expanded their investigations, as n-tv.de reports. In the greater area between Remscheid and Wuppertal, officers searched for a suspicious person with a rucksack who had been spotted at a substation in Remscheid-Lüttringhausen. A helicopter circled over the area between Remscheid-Lüttringhausen and Wuppertal-Ronsdorf. Whether this was the main suspect being sought remained unclear initially.
A spokesman for Cologne police stated that they had been deployed since the morning across the Wuppertal region — "throughout the state of North Rhine-Westphalia". This included covert measures. The authorities deliberately provided no detailed information in order not to jeopardise the search operation.
48-year-old from the Ruhr region sought
For several days, authorities have been searching for a 48-year-old from Gevelsberg in the southern Ruhr area. He is suspected of carrying out the sabotage operations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg. A 60-person investigation team is evaluating extensive documents from his possession — searching for possible further crime scenes throughout the entire country. Cologne police are in close contact with authorities in other states.
Confession letters relating to acts in Brandenburg and NRW are attributed by the investigating authorities to the suspect and are considered authentic. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt spoke of "climate terrorism" by an individual perpetrator: "The knowledge that is revealed in these letters is clear proof of the perpetrator's involvement."
Home-made rockets as weapon
The suspect is believed to have attempted everywhere to shoot a thin wire over high-voltage power lines using self-constructed rockets in order to trigger short circuits. In Bergheim west of Cologne, this disabled several blocks of a power plant — although actual power outages did not occur there. Such an attack on the grid succeeded at Jänschwalde in Brandenburg.
In Saxony, the number of self-made launch devices discovered in the area of high-voltage transmission lines rose to 21 according to authorities. Specialist forces from the state criminal office disarmed the devices. Due to "the nature of the explosive devices", investigators are also examining a potential link to the cases in Brandenburg and NRW.
Police also seized explosives in the suspect's flat. A search is also underway for a bicycle that the man may have used. Authorities are appealing for information from witnesses.
Substation on the Lower Rhine and large-scale operation in Hambach Forest
On the Lower Rhine, a police patrol in Wesel noticed a cut-open fence at a substation during the night. During the day, traces were still being secured and the facility was to be checked together with the operator, police said. "We are now alert with regard to such facilities and we patrol them more frequently," emphasised a police spokesman.
On Sunday there was already a large-scale operation in Hambach Forest near Cologne, where the suspect's camping truck had previously been discovered. However, no evidence of the man himself was found there.
Explosion in Berlin — technical defect suspected
In Berlin-Mitte, an explosion occurred at a substation of the grid operator 50Hertz, as a result of which approximately 90 traffic lights in the capital failed. A company spokesman stated that at present much points to a technical defect as the cause. Police confirmed this assessment following initial investigations.
Climate terrorism as motive
In his confession letters, the suspected perpetrator justified the attacks on the power grid with the fight against fossil fuels. "Electricity generation from fossil fuels is a crime," it states. In all three affected states — NRW, Brandenburg and Saxony — brown coal is still being mined and used for electricity generation. Since Saturday, investigators have been publicly searching for the 48-year-old using two photographs.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)