Hunt for power grid saboteur: Explosive devices found in three federal states
Following sabotage attacks on substations in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, police are intensively searching for a 48-year-old suspect.
Police search for 48-year-old after attacks on power grid in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony
Police are intensively searching for a 48-year-old man allegedly responsible for multiple sabotage operations against the German power grid. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, police and prosecutors in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia published a joint wanted notice on Saturday afternoon with two photographs of the suspect and appealed to the public for information.
Two confession letters sent to several news organisations are behind the search. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) stated at a press conference with North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU): "The knowledge that is revealed in these letters is clear evidence of guilt." Dobrindt described the motive as very likely "climate terrorism" by a lone perpetrator. One of the letters states: "Electricity generation from fossil fuels is a crime."
Attacks in three federal states
The incidents are spread across Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and, most recently, Saxony — three states where lignite coal is still mined and used to generate electricity. A connection between the cases is still being examined.
On Tuesday morning, the Turnow-Preilack substation in southern Brandenburg was first attacked. According to the German Press Agency, conductive materials were directed at high-voltage lines near the Jänschwalde power plant using more than 20 homemade rockets. Short circuits occurred in two cases, but the grid operator reported no power outages.
On the same evening, a substation in Bergheim near Cologne was hit. Launch devices and pyrotechnic materials were seized there. According to RWE Power, five lignite power plant units at the Niederaußem and Neurath sites were taken offline. Several units have since been restarted, with one expected to resume operations the following week. General electricity supply remained secure at all times.
On Thursday evening, a walker discovered suspected launch devices at a substation in Dormagen between Cologne and Düsseldorf and alerted police. On Friday, officers searched the area around the Weisweiler power plant near Aachen based on a tip from a confession letter. On Friday evening, a major police operation also took place at a long-disused power facility in Hamm.
Explosives in flat, suspect at large
Officers discovered explosives in the flat of the suspect in Gevelsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Friday. A special operations unit subsequently stormed a lorry in a forest near Niederzier, approximately 100 kilometres away. The vehicle had apparently been converted into a motorhome. However, the wanted man was not found.
Twelve explosive devices in East Saxony
Police discovered a total of twelve explosive devices in the high-voltage line area in East Saxony. Security authorities stated that these were intended to cause damage to the lines through short circuits. Officers found devices south of the Bärwalde substation near Lippen and east of the Graustein substation near Schleife — both locations lie in the Lausitz lignite region near the border with Brandenburg.
The operation in Saxony was triggered by inter-agency information as well as a report from a vigilant citizen. Police and the Dresden Public Prosecutor's Office are currently examining a connection to the cases in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. Investigations are proceeding, among other things, on suspicion of forming a terrorist organisation.
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung