More than 400 items found in U.K. nerve agent poison probe

LONDON — British police said Saturday that search teams have found over 400 items as part of the investigation into the poisoning of two Britons by the nerve agent Novichok — but searches will likely take many more weeks as officers seek further evidence.

Metropolitan Police announced a breakthrough Friday when they said they had found a small bottle believed to be the source of the nerve agent that killed Dawn Sturgess and sickened Charlie Rowley. The bottle was found at Rowley’s home in Amesbury, a southwestern town not far from Salisbury, where British authorities say Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok in March.

Britain blames the Russian government for the March attack, an accusation the Kremlin has denied. The case prompted Western nations, including the United States and Britain, to expel Russian diplomats and for Russia to retaliate with similar expulsions.

Police are trying to figure out whether the substance in the bottle — confirmed by scientists as Novichok — came from the same batch used in the attack against the Skripals.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the search process linked with both this and the Salisbury investigation has been one of the most complex and difficult that U.K. policing has ever faced,” said Assistant Police Commissioner Neil Basu.

Sturgess, 44, and Rowley, 45, were sickened June 30. Sturgess died in a hospital July 8.

Rowley was in critical condition for more than a week, but has regained consciousness.