Sweden releases German man detained at airport
October 6, 2017
A German national in his 20s has been cleared of any wrongdoing several hours after being detained by authorities at an airport in Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. A security screening Friday morning indicated the man was carrying a "dangerous element" in his luggage, according to a Swedish newspaper report.
Police have not said clearly what they found in the man's suitcase but Robin Simonsson a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said "the man is no longer suspected of any crime."
In line with Swedish rules, police did not identify the man. But a local daily, the Goteborg-Postens, had reported that he was a German citizen. The paper also said that a chemical compound known as TATP, a peroxide-based explosive that has been used by Islamist terrorists in several attacks across Europe, including Manchester, Brussels and Paris, .
However, Simonsson later told the Associated Press news agency that investigations did not point to TATP being in the suitcase.
Police spokesman Peter Adlersson said earlier on Friday that the man was trying "to fly to another EU country" before his arrest, but did not specify which one.
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bik, tj/msh (AFP, AP)