Sabotage at Dormagen substation: confession letter and launcher devices found
Following the discovery of a suspicious object at the Dormagen substation, police are investigating sabotage. A confession letter has been found.
Dormagen substation: police investigate sabotage offence
After the discovery of a suspicious object at a substation in Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, police are treating it as a sabotage offence, according to Google News DE — Crime (de) citing a spokesman for Cologne police. Investigators have a confession letter in which other suspected cases already known to the public in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg are also mentioned.
A walker discovered the object at the substation on Thursday evening. Technical examinations were initially still ongoing. The police spokesman described the find as a potentially "suspicious launcher device".
Homemade rockets with timer switches
According to information from Bild newspaper, launcher devices for homemade rockets were found on the object, to which timer switches and copper wires are said to have been attached. Police refused to officially confirm these claims. Meanwhile, officers checked other substations in surrounding regions for similar objects.
Apart from the substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne, no damage has been reported so far, according to the spokesman. In Bergheim, according to earlier statements from authorities, cables were conveyed over overhead lines on Tuesday, which caused a short circuit. Subsequently, several launcher devices were also discovered there.
Similar incident in southern Brandenburg
A few hours earlier, a comparable incident had occurred near Jänschwalde power plant in southern Brandenburg. On Tuesday morning, conductive material was directed towards high-voltage power lines using homemade flying objects resembling New Year's Eve fireworks. More than a dozen launcher devices were found. According to the network operator, no power outage occurred.
Investigators believe the incidents in Bergheim and Jänschwalde are attributable to anti-constitutional sabotage. According to Bild, the devices secured in Dormagen are similar to those from the two other crime scenes.
Confession letter received by taz
Taz reported on Thursday evening that it had received a confession letter regarding the incident in Brandenburg, which according to the postmark was sent from North Rhine-Westphalia. The sender presents themselves as acting alone, describes the homemade rockets used in detail, and cites as motive the "immeasurable suffering" caused by the use of fossil fuels. Taz explicitly noted that it could not be definitively established whether the author of the letter was also the perpetrator.
Brandenburg announces security centre
In response to the attacks, Brandenburg's interior ministry announced on Thursday a new security centre to protect critical infrastructure. Interior Minister Jan Redmann (CDU) stated: "The signs are mounting that both attacks are part of a coordinated assault on our energy supply." The incidents in Jänschwalde and Bergheim demonstrated how vulnerable critical infrastructure in Germany is and how urgently it needs to be protected.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)