MADRID, Spain – Spanish police arrested a man who had 1,653 pounds of dynamite (search) and thousands of detonators in his house, news reports said Wednesday.
Police said they were investigating where the explosives came from and if the man had any contact with a terrorist group, the national news agency Efe said.
The Civil Guard, a police unit that reportedly made the arrest, declined to comment.
The dynamite, a Spanish brand called Goma 2, is believed to have come from mines and quarries where the man worked, the agency said. The man, whose name was not released, was said to have the necessary permits.
It is not clear when the raid, in the northeastern town of Gurb, took place.
Spain (search) has tightened restrictions on the sale and use of explosives following the March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid (search) that killed 191 people. The explosives used in the attack, blamed on Islamic militants, are believed to have been stolen from mines in northern Spain.
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