Sabotage suspect held in Germany after spate of attacks on power grid

A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a spate of sabotage attacks on Germany's electricity grid after spending several days on the run.

The suspect was carrying explosives when he was detained near the Weisweiler power plant in western Germany on Tuesday, police in Cologne said.

A tent in nearby undergrowth was also found to be rigged with further explosives, they added.

The suspect, named by German media as Daniel V, is believed to have written letters claiming responsibility for the attacks, which have taken place in Brandenburg and Saxony in the east as well North Rhine-Westphalia in the west.

Police said explosives found during the arrest were being examined by a bomb disposal expert, while officers were checking to see if any undiscovered devices had been set up in the surrounding area.

Prior to the suspect's arrest on Tuesday, police said they had found several launch devices on high-voltage lines near the Weisweiler plant on Monday afternoon, alongside "another confession letter".

A series of incidents across the grid in the last week have followed a similar pattern, with rockets used to shoot wires across high-voltage cables in order to cause short circuits.

The attacks have led to power-generating units at some plants being temporarily taken off the grid.

A statement from the Cologne Public Prosecutor's Office and Cologne Police on Tuesday did not provide further details on the suspect, or on the number and whereabouts of incidents he has been linked to.

German media have previously reported receiving two letters from the suspect claiming responsibility for the attacks. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the handwritten letters contained information that had not yet been made public.

The letters were apparently signed with the first name Daniel, while his surname was kept anonymous, in line with German privacy rules. The letters also gave a residential address in the town of Gevelsberg.

Cologne Police had previously said it was searching for a 48-year-old suspect from the town in connection with the sabotage of electrical substations in three German states. Investigators had also said explosives were found during a search of the suspect's apartment.

In Saxony alone, police found 21 devices near high-voltage power lines last Friday and Saturday.

Interior Minister Armin Schuster has admitted it could have led to a regional blackout, but he has warned against jumping to conclusions.

"The way this deed was committed makes this case unusual, as well as the manner of the confession," he said.