Weaponry and Radiological Materials Found in Germany's Shocking Case

German prosecutors stated on Friday that a soldier currently detained by law enforcement had been stockpiling radiological materials and classified documents alongside a large arsenal of weapons, in a case that has shaken the national military. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Frankfurt informed AFP that the officer was found to possess an unspecified quantity of "strontium-90," a hazardous carcinogenic substance. Charges of "unauthorized handling of radiological materials" and violations of military arms control laws are expected to be filed. Investigators previously uncovered a cache believed to belong to the captain during a raid in the town of Dinhofen earlier this month. The Ministry of Defense at that time stated that the weapons were not believed to be owned by the German army, while "Der Spiegel" reported on Friday, citing ministry records, that most of the cache's contents originated from former communist bloc countries. The cache included Kalashnikov rifles, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, and hand grenades. The unnamed suspect works at a military center focused on explosive device analysis. In addition to "strontium-90," which can be used in medical and industrial applications and may also be found in nuclear power plant waste, the man also possessed classified documents related to the foreign intelligence agency, addressing the situation in North Korea. The military counterintelligence agency has joined the ongoing investigation against the officer. This comes following a series of cases that have confused the German military, including the arrest of two former soldiers this week on charges of attempting to form a paramilitary group of mercenaries to fight in the ongoing war in Yemen. The German army has previously suspended several soldiers and disbanded an elite unit amid allegations of sexual assault, sympathy for far-right ideologies, and the adoption of Nazi ideas.