German police have taken a 32-year-old Iranian national into custody. On suspicion of stockpiling the deadly poisons cyanide. And ricin to carry out an “Islamist-motivated” attack. Authorities in West Germany said Sunday.
The suspect’s house in the town 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 preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state by procuring cyanide. And ricin to carry out an Islamist-inspired attack,” the statement said.
It carries a prison sentence of six months to 10 years, police said.
Holger Hemming of the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office told. Reuters TV that police seized electronic storage devices. But found no cyanide or ricin during the search.
Castrop-Rauxel is in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Whose interior minister Herbert Reul said: “We had a serious piece of information that prompted the police to intervene at night. The authorities are now investigating at full speed.”
Hemming said the tip came from the security agency of a “friendly state,” without elaborating. Mass tabloid Bild said the agency was the FBI.
Police said a second man was detained as part of the investigation. With a decision on whether to issue an official arrest warrant pending the investigation.
Hemming confirmed the man as the suspect’s brother.
Ricin, a occurring substance in castor beans. Can cause death within 36 to 72 hours of exposure to small amounts like pinheads. No known antidote exists.
According to the German domestic intelligence agency. The number of members or supporters of the Islamist cause fell by 1.5% to 28,290 in 2021, citing the “military breakdown” of the militant Islamic State group.
On December 19, 2016, Anis Amri. A failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links. Drove a truck into a West Berlin Christmas market by a mob, killing 11 and injuring dozens.
News of Sunday’s search comes a month after German authorities arrested 25 members. And supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor’s office said was preparing. A violent overthrow of the state.
