German authorities have asked Romania to extradite a person suspected of being linked to the discovery of an underground arsenal in a wooded area near Berlin. German media have linked the weapons cache to Russian intelligence services.
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The news comes two weeks after a drone carrying explosives was found at Leipzig Airport. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced that federal prosecutors had launched an investigation into the secret weapons cache amid suspicions that it was linked to preparations for a serious act of violence threatening national security.
“This case shows that we are operating under a high level of threat,” Dobrindt told reporters. Referring also to the incident in Leipzig, the minister said that the involvement of “foreign powers” could not be ruled out.
According to previous reports by local media, about a year ago German authorities found two pistols and ammunition in a wooded area outside the capital. The discovery was made after agents from the domestic intelligence service received information.
The case was kept at the center of a covert operation by state security and counterintelligence services. According to separate reports by Der Spiegel magazine, the suspicion was that Russian intelligence was preparing assassinations on German territory.
Dobrindt explained that the weapons were not immediately removed from the site where they were found. After rendering them unusable, the authorities left them there in the hope of obtaining information through a months-long electronic surveillance operation.
The person detained in Romania, whose nationality has not been made public, was described by the German minister as a “low-level agent.” He added that several other operatives in the same category had also been detained this year.
Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in acts of sabotage, attempts to sow division, or threats against European Union member states.
