Suspected power grid saboteur arrested: Interior Minister Reul speaks of a lone perpetrator

According to North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), the arrested suspected power grid saboteur wanted to continue his attacks. “He was still on the move and wanted to keep going. This game ended today,” said Reul in Duisburg. “At the moment everything suggests that it was a lone perpetrator and that everything was out of his hands.”

Evidence that the 48-year-old may have psychological problems or may have been paid is “reading coffee grounds.” However, he did not yet know how he expressed himself during the interrogation, said Reul. His arrest was thanks to an attentive police officer who found the man suspicious.

After a series of sabotage attacks on the power grid in several federal states, the police arrested the wanted suspect near Weisweiler near Aachen. He came to the attention of the police during a major operation near the Weisweiler power plant near Aachen.

Investigators believe that he attempted to sabotage power lines near coal-fired power plants in several locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony - in some cases he succeeded.

According to police, the man had explosives with him when he was arrested. In addition, emergency services found a tent in the undergrowth near the Weisweiler power plant that was equipped with additional explosives. The man did not resist his arrest.