A 32-year-old Iranian has been arrested in western Germany on suspicion of preparing an attack using cyanide and ricin, according to the police and the Düsseldorf prosecutor’s office.
The suspect’s residence in Kastrup-Rüxel (North Rhine-Westphalia) was searched for possible “toxic materials” intended to carry out an attack, according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office and the Münster police, reports a local Arabic daily quoting AFP.
The investigators indicated that the Iranian “is suspected of preparing a dangerous act of violence that threatens state security by supplying him with cyanide and ricin with the aim of committing an attack.”
However, they did not provide details about the existence of a tangible and imminent threat or not, nor about the progress of preparations.
Ricin is a very toxic substance that is classified by the Robert Koch Institute in charge of health control in Germany as a “biological weapon”, and it is extracted from the ricin plant. It may form a deadly poison similar to cyanide.
Another person was arrested during the operation and placed in custody pending investigation. Local public broadcaster VDR said the arrested person was the brother of the main suspect. German media reported that personnel wearing protection suits due to the biological threat participated in the operation.
The prosecution said that the main suspect is supposed to appear in the coming days before the investigating judge.
The daily “Bild” newspaper reported that the German authorities had received a warning from a foreign intelligence agency a few days ago about the threat of a “chemical bomb” attack.
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