Power supply sabotaged: Police issue Europe-wide manhunt for Daniel V. from Gevelsberg
The 48-year-old Daniel V. from Gevelsberg is being sought with photographs following attacks on energy infrastructure in Germany. Two claim-of-responsibility letters put investigators on his trail.
Europe-wide manhunt for suspected power supply saboteur
The Potsdam police headquarters has released photographs of the 48-year-old suspect Daniel V., who is being sought following attacks on energy infrastructure at several locations in Germany. According to DER SPIEGEL (Justice & Crime), the man registered in Gevelsberg is currently a fugitive – the manhunt is now running across Europe. Police accept information around the clock at the number 0331 505950 and via the information portal of the Police NRW.
On Friday midday, officers from the SEK stormed the suspect's residential house in Gevelsberg – without success. On the same day, investigators searched a lorry converted into a camper van near the Hambach Forest. Daniel V. was not found there either.
The suspects themselves apparently put the authorities on the trail: V. sent two claim-of-responsibility letters in the past few days. The first was initially made public by the newspaper taz on Thursday; both letters are available to SPIEGEL.
In his handwritten letters, V. describes in detail how he fired wires with "small cannons and fireworks rockets" at the power lines. He goes into technical detail: wire diameter, construction design and propellant charges used are explained. According to his account, the aim was to trigger short circuits by firing wires into high-voltage power lines.
The incidents began on Tuesday of this week. A worker discovered conspicuous devices at a transformer station in Turnow-Preilack, a place near the Polish border in Brandenburg. These served to launch self-built flying objects resembling fireworks rockets. The grid operator informed the police, who secured approximately two dozen further launch devices around the transformer station.
The attacks on energy infrastructure have greatly alarmed both politicians and the public, and have once again brought the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in Germany into focus.