Police confirm source of Novichok poisoning

daughter in March.

Assistant Police Commissioner Neil Basu said no more details would be provided about the bottle. More than 100 police officers had been searching for the source of Rowley’s and Sturgess’ exposure in the towns of Amesbury, where they lived, and Salisbury, where the Skripals were poisoned.

Basu said cordons would remain in place in some locations to protect the public despite the apparent breakthrough in the case.

“This is clearly a significant and positive development. However, we cannot guarantee that there isn’t any more of the substance left,” Basu said. “This is to allow thorough searches to continue as a precautionary measure for public safety and to assist the investigation team.”

Great Britain’s Foreign Office said Friday that the U.K. has asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to collect sample for analysis at its labs. The organization has the power to assign blame for chemical weapons use.

The Novichok saga began in March when Sergei and Yulia Skripal mysteriously fell ill on a park bench in Salisbury. They were found to have been poisoned with Novichok, a lethal nerve agent produced in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the Russian government for the attack, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.

The Skripals survived and have been released from a hospital, but are in a secret protected location.

The case led the United States and other countries to expel a large number of Russian diplomats.

Public health officials say the risk to the public is low, but advised people not to pick up strange items.