Germany detains Iranian suspected of planning ‘Islamist-motivated’ cyanide, ricin attack
- A 32-year-old was taken into custody, suspected of endangering life ‘by allegedly procuring cyanide, ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack’
- Arrest was in city of Castrop-Rauxel in nation’s most populous state; there’s no antidote to ricin, which can kill from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead
German police probing a possible terrorist attack using ricin and cyanide failed to uncover toxins during their search of residential premises in Castrop-Rauxel in Germany’s northern-western Ruhr area on Sunday.
Acting with experts from the federal disease control body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), along with the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), some wearing protective hazmat suits, the investigators arrested a 32-year-old Iranian man and his brother late on Saturday on suspicion of plotting an Islamist-motivated attack.
The arrests followed a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency, with the Dusseldorf public prosecutor and Recklinghausen and Münster police saying the man was suspected of having obtained cyanide and ricin.
His residence, in the city of Castrop-Rauxel, was searched as part of the investigation, according to a joint press release from the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office and police in the cities of Recklinghausen and Muenster.
“The suspect is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence endangering the state by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack,” the statement said. This, police said, carries a prison sentence of between 6 months and 10 years.
Castrop-Rauxel is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. Ricin, found naturally in castor beans, can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.
