German police arrested a 48-year-old suspect on Tuesday in connection with a series of sabotage attacks on the country's power grid. The man, identified as Daniel V., was apprehended near an RWE power plant at Weisweiler, close to Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to prosecutors, the suspect was located near the Hambach Forest in North Rhine-Westphalia and arrested at a highway service station near Weisweiler, where he had apparently been staying in a tent. A spokesman for the Cottbus state prosecutor's office confirmed the arrest. The suspect offered no resistance during the apprehension, prosecutors said.
Authorities discovered additional explosive devices at the suspect's tent, which were subsequently defused. Police had been searching for the 48-year-old for several days in connection with attempted sabotage of the power grid across multiple German states.
Sabotage devices were discovered in Brandenburg, Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia. The suspect was reportedly carrying explosives at the time of his arrest during a traffic stop in the Weisweiler area.
A further confession letter was found prior to the arrest. The Cologne state prosecutor's office is handling aspects of the investigation. The federal government characterized the attacks as "climate extremism."
Police secured potential evidence at the site of a transformer station in the vicinity of the RWE power plant at Weisweiler in Eschweiler. The Cottbus state prosecutor's office had issued a warrant for the suspect's arrest.