The constituency office of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck stated on Thursday that it had received an envelope containing a white material, sparking a large-scale police operation.
A preliminary analysis revealed that the substance was simply finely powdered sand, according to spokesman, awaiting a complete investigation of the occurrence.
Employees at Habeck’s workplace in Flensburg, on the northern border with Denmark, presented the package to police on Wednesday afternoon, who then notified the fire department, according to a police statement issued late that day.
The officer operation lasted two hours, and the substance was removed from the building by the fire brigade in a container.
Habeck, whose ministry is responsible for energy as well as the economy and who also serves as deputy chancellor of Germany, has been the face of high-profile policies seeking to mitigate the economic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His ranking in opinion polls has fallen in recent weeks following a nepotism scandal in his ministry and criticism of his push to phase out older home heating systems.
