Terror suspect ‘called Weirdo ordered enough ricin to kill 1,400’
A COMPUTER programmer calling himself ‘Weirdo’ bought enough ricin to kill 1,400 people from an undercover FBI agent in a ‘Breaking Bad’ inspired plot, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. Father of two Mohammed Ammer Ali, 31, is accused of attempting to buy 500mg of the lethal poison which he planned to test on a rabbit or ‘pocket-sized’ animal adopted from a rescue centre.
The court heard Ali had ordered the ricin from a dealer using the ‘dark web’ – websites that can be used anonymously – but walked into a trap laid by the FBI.
The programmer began searching for the toxin in January under the name ‘Weirdos 0000’ before he was traced by an FBI agent, the court heard.
He paid $500 in Bitcoins – a digital currency – for five vials of the poison, which is 6,000 times more deadly than cyanide, to be delivered to his home in Liverpool hidden inside a toy car, it is alleged.
He was arrested by officers from North West Counter-Terrori sm Unit and charged with attempting to possess a chemical weapon. He denies the charge. Yesterday jurors at the Old Bailey heard police later found no evidence to suggest Ali had any association with terrorist activities or organisations.
Opening the case, Sally Howes QC said: ‘This was not a genuine transaction, but he thought he was going to be possessing ricin.’
The court heard how on January 11 an FBI agent received an encrypted message on a website called Evolution Marketplace – the dark web equivalent of Amazon. A user called ‘Weirdos 0000’ asked the agent: ‘Hi, would you be able to make me some ricin and send it to the UK?’
‘Weirdos 0000 is a name attributable to the defendant,’ Miss Howes said. She added that ricin, from seeds of castor oil plants, was ‘the poisoner’s perfect poison’ because it does not show up in post-mortem examinations.
Miss Howes said: ‘If inhaled or injected, 100mg of ricin, one vial in this case, is sufficient to kill 140 to 280 people.
‘The 500mg could have killed 700 to 1,400 people.’ The pair contin- ued their exchange between January 13 and February 6. Ali then negotiated a bulk-buy discount, promising to be a ‘very good repeat customer’, it is alleged. He also wanted the ricin split into ‘Breaking Bad-style’ small vials – a reference to the American TV series about a drug dealer who uses ricin to kill rivals.
The ‘ricin’ arrived at the home Ali shared with his wife and two young sons on February 10. However, the five packets contained a harmless powder.
The court heard that on a computer seized at Ali’s house, detectives found a number of ‘significant’ web searches. As well as messages from the agent, it had been used to search for ‘Abrin’, another poison, as well as ‘home made cyanide and ricin’ and ‘making ricin’.
Detectives also found a file that read ‘paid ricin guy’ and ‘get pet to murder’, the court heard.
Then on February 10, after the delivery of the toy car Ali allegedly made a number of Google searches relating to pets.
They included ‘Liverpool pet shop’, small sized pets’ ‘pocket sized pets’, ‘animal rescue centre’, ‘rehoming or adopting a small animal’ and ‘rabbit home – adopt an unwanted bunny from a rescue centre’.
The trial continues.
‘The poisoner’s perfect poison’