Sources: Suspect detained over sabotage on German power grid

German police have detained a 48-year-old man suspected of several acts of sabotage on the national electricity grid, sources told dpa on Tuesday. 

The man was reportedly held in the area of the Weisweiler power station, near the western city of Aachen, after days of investigations into a series of incidents on the sites of major infrastructure facilities. 

Police launched a manhunt for the 48-year-old after he sent letters claiming responsibility for the attacks to media outlets and authorities. His motive was reportedly climate-related, with the letters criticizing electricity production from fossil fuels.

The suspect is alleged to have used explosive launching devices to drape a thin wire across high-voltage power lines, thereby causing a short circuit at two locations in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg last week. No power cuts were reported.

Several more devices designed to cause explosions were discovered on a high-voltage power line near the Weisweiler power station on Monday, close to the spot where police were subsequently able to arrest the man. Investigators also found another letter claiming responsibility.

Facilities in Saxony have also been targeted, with police saying on Monday that at least 21 devices homemade explosive devices have been found and defused in the eastern state.

"These devices were intended to cause damage to the high-voltage power lines by short-circuiting them," the Dresden police and public prosecutor's office stated, adding that no damage to the power grid occurred.

Police and prosecutors issued a joint appeal for information, including two photos of the man, with a large-scale search on Sunday revealing no trace of the suspect.

On Friday, police found explosives in the man's apartment in the western town of Gevelsberg. Later, a special operations unit stormed a truck in a forest near Niederzier, about 100 kilometres away.

The truck appeared to have been converted into a camper van. The wanted man was not found inside.