The German police have apprehended one of the suspects following what is believed to have been a foiled arson attack on a drone factory in eastern Slovakia. The arrest took place in Hamburg on Tuesday, according to the newspaper Spiegel. The accused, a 26-year-old man of Lithuanian nationality, is the suspected saboteur.
A spokesperson for the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Spiegel that the man was taken into custody in the German city under an European arrest warrant issued by a Slovak court. Additionally, Slovakia had requested the extradition of the 26-year-old. Based on a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the responsible Hamburg local court subsequently issued a pre-trial detention order (“Festhalteanordnung”). The Lithuanian man is currently being held in custody in Germany.
Slovak security authorities investigated and determined that the man arrested in Hamburg, along with another Lithuanian citizen and a Ukrainian national, had been involved in preparing the arson attack on the drone factory. The local police reported that the alleged accomplices were also arrested in Slovakia concurrently with the arrest in Hamburg.
The trio faces charges of preparing a fire attack on an aircraft systems factory in eastern Slovakia, allegedly on behalf of unidentified third parties. This factory apparently produces military-grade drones.
The arrests were initially made based on intelligence provided by the Slovak secret service. According to police, authorities secured significant quantities of a napalm-like incendiary mixture, technical equipment, and handwritten notes from the suspects.
