German Police Arrest Man Over Attacks on Power Grid

German authorities have arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with a series of attacks on power distribution systems across the country, ending a massive, dayslong search.

The suspect was detained near the Weisweiler power plant in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Cologne police said he was in possession of explosives and offered no resistance at the time of his arrest. In line with German privacy rules, his full name and nationality were not officially disclosed.

The arrest follows a spate of incidents that began early last week with sabotage at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. Hours later, a short circuit knocked power lines out of service at the Bergheim power substation near Cologne.

Initially, top security officials in both states raised alarm, saying they could not exclude the possibility that foreign powers were behind the attacks. The incidents came amid heightened alert following a government accusation that Russia was responsible for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4.

However, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated on Friday that the acts were believed to have been carried out by a single activist linked to climate extremism.

The suspect is also alleged to have attempted, at several locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, and Saxony, to use homemade rockets to shoot thin wire across high-voltage power lines, aiming to cause short circuits.

Police remained at the scene in Weisweiler on Tuesday to secure evidence and check the surrounding area for any additional, as-yet-undiscovered detonation devices.