Police discover explosives and arrest two people

EThe police had actually arrived on suspicion of forced prostitution: During a search of the apartment in Aachen emergency services accidentally encountered high-explosive explosives. A man and a woman in the apartment were arrested, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

The substance found in a box is TATP. The substance is often used by ATM blowers, the spokesman said. “Now it is determined in all directions.” The arrested are said to be tenants of the apartment. The police initially did not provide any further information on the identity of the two.

The explosives and cash were discovered during a search on Friday afternoon. In the action of criminal police it was actually about an investigation into suspected forced prostitution, said the spokesman.

Specialists perform controlled demolition

After the find, it was initially unclear whether it was drugs or explosives. Specialists from the State Criminal Police Office that were consulted finally identified the substance as TATP. “The substance is highly explosive and has tremendous force,” said the spokesman. It was therefore decided to blast the substance on site in a temporary pit in a controlled manner with the help of a robot.

Forces cordoned off the area. More than 30 people were evacuated from the affected house and neighboring buildings for the blast on Friday evening and taken to the Tivoli Stadium in Aachen by bus. The force of the detonation shattered windows on a house and stones flew into a hallway. All residents could have returned to their apartments later, the police spokesman said.