Six men are suspected of having planned acts of sabotage on large power lines. According to Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), this was prevented by the police. Early on Wednesday morning, almost 300 officers in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz carried out searches in several apartments. According to the information, the operation was for police security. Herrmann described the action in the early evening as a complete success.
Some of the suspects were legally in possession of firearms, which is why police special forces were involved, police said. There are also indications of possibly illegal gun ownership. Weapons, laptops and smartphones were seized.
The men are between 34 and 59 years old and are said to show “prepper” behavior patterns. The term “prepper” is derived from the English “to be prepared”, which means something like “to be prepared”. “Preppers” prepare for catastrophe scenarios up to the end of the world. “Our investigators managed a sensitive blow against a group with ruthless and anti-constitutional intentions,” said Herrmann. “Planned acts of sabotage on large power lines” could have been prevented by the police.
According to the minister, the police always take reports of planned acts of sabotage very seriously. Consistent disarmament is also very important. “Every suspected case is checked and all legal options are exhausted.” According to Herrmann, the Bavarian weapons authorities confiscated a total of 189 weapons requiring a permit in 2021 on suspicion of extremism, 125 of them from right-wing extremists and 48 from Reich citizens.