Attacks on power lines: Explosive devices found as police continue search

Police continued searching power infrastructure in eastern Saxony on Sunday after authorities found 12 explosive devices near high-voltage lines in the Lusatian lignite region on the border with Brandenburg.

The devices were discovered in the region near Schleife, in the Görlitz district. Police and the Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office said they were designed to cause damage to the power lines through a short circuit. The authorities said the grid suffered no damage and that there was no danger to the public.

A larger police operation has been underway since Friday. A spokesperson for the Görlitz police said officers were still checking the electrical infrastructure, although the operation could end during the day. Authorities said they would provide a final update afterward.

At the same time, investigators are conducting an intensive search for a 48-year-old man suspected of carrying out sabotage actions against Germany’s power grid. The reported incidents have centered on North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony. Police and prosecutors in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia released a joint appeal for information, including two photographs of the suspect.

Police found explosives on Friday in the man’s apartment in Gevelsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Later, a special police unit stormed a truck in a forest near Niederzier, roughly 100 kilometers away. The vehicle appeared to have been converted into a motorhome, but the wanted man was not there.

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These were intended to cause damage to the high-voltage lines through a short circuit.