By Stacy Boit,
German police have launched nationwide raids over a suspected arson attack on Berlin’s power grid that affected many thousands. Six months on, investigators are focusing on alleged links to left-wing extremist networks.
Following a suspected arson attack on high-voltage power poles that left 50,000 without electricity in Berlin last September, investigators have launched raids across the country on Tuesday morning.
Eighteen raids have been taking place across Germany, targeting “suspects whose names are known,” said a spokesperson for the Berlin State Prosecutor’s Office cited by AFP news agency.
“Today’s searches show that we pursue every lead with the highest priority,” the head of Berlin’s interior department, Iris Spranger, said. “Anyone who attacks our critical infrastructure attacks the security of our entire city. We will not accept that,” she added.
In September 2025, unknown individuals destroyed high-voltage cables that supplied power to the Adlershof Technology Park in southeast Berlin’s Johannisthal neighborhood.
A letter claiming responsibility later surfaced in left-wing circles, with extremists suspected.
Fifty thousand customers of the state-owned Stromnetz operator were affected, including businesses. Damage to companies is estimated to be between €30 million to €70 million euros ($34 million to $81 million).
Care facilities were also hit by the power outage and five residents from two nursing homes were temporarily transferred to hospitals, according to the fire department.
Six months later, apartments and other premises are being searched by police in many locations across the capital, as well as in three other federal states, based on information obtained by dpa news agency.
Five hundred police officers were reportedly deployed, with many stationed in front of several buildings in Berlin connected to the left-wing scene and carrying out laptops, according to dpa. A far-left anarchist library in central Berlin’s Kreuzberg was also reportedly targeted by police.
The German police union said: “The security authorities know who the key figures in the hard-line faction are. But it remains incredibly difficult to prove that they carried out arson attacks like the ones in Johannisthal or Zehlendorf.”
In January of this year, a separate attack claimed by the far-left “Vulkangruppe” (Volcano Group) left 45,000 Berlin homes without power for nearly a week during an unusually harsh winter.
