Sabotage of power lines in Germany: police issue European arrest warrant for 48-year-old man
German police are investigating a suspicious object found at a power distribution station in Dormagen as sabotage. They are searching for a 48-year-old man who has claimed responsibility for the attacks in letters.
German police investigate series of attacks on electrical installations
German police are investigating a suspicious object found at a power station in Dormagen as possible sabotage, according to Google News CZ — Crime (cs) citing the DPA agency. The incident occurred on Thursday in the town situated between Cologne and Düsseldorf — a passer-by alerted police to the suspicious object, which officers described as a possible firing device. Electricity supply was not disrupted and no damage was reported.
Investigators have two letters in which the alleged perpetrator claims responsibility for attacks on power distribution stations. Based on information contained in these letters, police also investigated a power station in Weisweiler near Aachen and in Ganderkesee near Oldenburg.
Using a European arrest warrant, police are searching for a 48-year-old man from Gevelsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia. "Whether this is actually the suspect or someone trying to ride on the wave of attention, we must investigate," said a police spokesman. According to the DPA agency, the letters contain information that was not publicly known at the time they were sent to the media.
German media report that the letters cite the fight against fossil fuels and companies using them as the reason for the attacks. Police have not publicly commented on the contents of the letters.
Herbert Reul, Interior Minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, stated that "much suggests that this is the work of a person whose name we know". He also did not rule out group involvement: "At the moment it seems less likely that this is the work of a foreign power. Several pieces of evidence support the assumption that this is the act of an individual. But there may be a group engaged in this," said Reul.
Dormagen is the third location in a series. On Tuesday, a distribution station near the Jänschewalde power plant in Brandenburg was targeted in a sabotage attack, where the perpetrator or perpetrators used homemade objects resembling New Year's Eve fireworks. On the same day, someone also attacked a distribution station in Bergheim near Cologne, where police found a firing device and pyrotechnic materials.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)