Security authorities in Hamburg have apparently foiled a plot by an Islamist to carry out an attack. Among other things, the 20-year-old German-Moroccan Abdurrahman C. had tried to buy a weapon and a hand grenade on the Darknet, the police reported on Friday.
According to SPIEGEL information, C. came into contact with undercover investigators. The officers went into it for appearances’ sake. At the end of August, the man was arrested during the staged handover. During a search, chemicals for the construction of a bomb were also found. He is in pre-trial detention on suspicion of violating the Arms Control Act and the War Weapons Control Act, among other charges.
At a press conference, Interior Senator Andy Grote spoke of a “very, very serious incident” that we “have not had before”. The potential explosive power of the chemicals was capable of causing “considerable” destruction, at least in the immediate vicinity, said the Social Democratic politician.
The security authorities now assume that there is no longer a concrete threat to carry out an attack. The case shows that “the security network of the state and federal authorities worked very well”, said the head of the state criminal investigation office, Mirko Streiber.