Detention of Daniel V. suspected of sabotaging energy infrastructure

According to "WELT" information, Daniel V. was traveling on foot and tried to bypass the police blockade. He was stopped at a gas station on the highway near Weisweiler, where he likely spent the night in a tent. According to the Cologne prosecutor's office, he did not resist. More explosives were found in his tent and are currently being defused.

Near the Weisweiler power plant, the police found more explosives and devices that could have been used for sabotage. A letter was also secured in which the author admits to the crime and presents his actions as a protest against the use of fossil fuels for energy production. “Generating electricity from fossil fuels is a crime,” he wrote.

A series of attacks on energy infrastructure

The 48-year-old from Gevelsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia was wanted in connection with a series of acts of sabotage and an attempt to damage high-voltage lines in several places in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony.

According to investigators, the suspect allegedly used self-made launchers to shoot thin wires towards power lines, thus causing a short circuit and disrupting the functioning of the energy infrastructure. In at least two cases the plan succeeded: in Bergheim, west of Cologne, it caused the shutdown of several power units. Similarly in Brandenburg, where it hit the Turnow-Preilack transformer station near the Jänschwalde power plant.

The investigation will determine whether the 48-year-old acted alone. Explosive materials were found in his apartment in Gevelsberg and secured.