Security authorities in Germany uncovered a cache of handguns in a forest near the capital Berlin last year, which they believe was intended to be used to carry out assassinations on behalf of Russia, according to reports on Friday.
The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR reported that one suspect was arrested in Romania.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said German authorities were in touch with their Romanian counterparts about the suspect’s potential extradition.
“This case demonstrates that we are operating under a high threat level,” Dobrindt told a press conference.
What else did Dobrindt say about the weapons stash?
Dobrindt confirmed the media reports that the suspect, who was detained in Romania last year, was being investigated on suspicion of espionage and planning a violent attack that endangers the state.
But Dobrindt did not comment on the media reports’ claims that the weapons were meant to be used for targeted killings on behalf of Russian intelligence. The minister only said that authorities could not rule out foreign powers being involved.
The interior minister also did not disclose the suspect’s identity, but he did say that the suspect was being held in connection with planned parcel bomb attacks in Romania.
“We will then determine, in the course of the investigation, what measures can be taken against this person,” Dobrindt added.
Dobrindt said the suspect was a “low-level agent” and unaware of the line of command above him. The minister added that other operatives, including a Kazakh citizen, had been detained this year who were similarly uninformed of the network they were part of.
What do we know about the weapons that were found?
The stash found near Berlin contained two pistols, which had signs that they had been placed there on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services, German news agency dpa reported. The stash also contained ammunition.
Police disabled the two handguns but left them intact at the site before placing the location under surveillance.
Dobrindt said officers watched the stash for months after discovering it, but no one was seen approaching it. It is presumed the alleged perpetrators were aware that police had uncovered the weapons and avoided the site.
What do we know about Russia’s alleged involvement?
While Dobrindt refused to be drawn into whether Russia was directly involved, the minister said this month that Germany was a “daily target of hybrid warfare.”
“Espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, or covert operations by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing Germany or inflicting direct harm are a constant reality,” Dobrindt said at the time.
Those remarks came in response to the discovery of an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig Airport.
Some German lawmakers have pointed to Russia, and US media reports said American intelligence services suspected that Russia was behind the drone incident.
Russia has rejected allegations that it was involved as a ”hastily fabricated provocation” that is part of a “new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany.”
The Russian embassy in Berlin added that the incident “only serves the interests of Kyiv and the militarist wing of the European political class.”
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
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