POLICE IN THE GERMAN city of Frankfurt have arrested an Irish man who had been making threats to officials in the country’s courts system.

The 53-year-old was found to be in possession of several samurai swords and German police, in a statement, said that they stopped a “possible attack”.

Police said the man had been sending multiple “confused” handwritten letters to court staff in the state of Hessen. The police said the letters appeared to show that the man thought he had suffered “injustices” by the courts system and that he was plotting some form of attack. 

The phrasing used by the man led prosecutors to believe he was “mentally confused”. He had cited certain Nazi-era terms such as Reichsbürger (Reich citizen).

On 12 July, believing an attack was imminent, Frankfurt am Main police launched a large-scale operation in a bid to track the man down. Three days later, they tracked him down to a plot of land in northern Frankfurt. He was then arrested.

Some of the weapons which were seized. Frankfurt Police Frankfurt Police

Police obtained a search warrant for the plot of land and discovered guns, samurai swords, crossbows and daggers.

The man is now in custody in Frankfurt and is expected to be formally charged with offences against the German state in the coming days.