The Independent

German police detain man suspected of plotting attack

- NAMITA SINGH

German police say they have foiled a terror plot in the country after arresting a 32-year-old Iranian man suspected of having procured deadly poisons including cyanide and ricin to carry out an attack.

The residence of the suspect in the town of Castrop-Rauxel was also searched, police and prosecutor­s in a joint statement.

Specialist­s wearing anti-contaminat­ion suits were seen carrying evidence out of the man’s home. A spokespers­on for Duesseldor­f prosecutor­s said initial searches did not find any toxic substances.

The person “is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence endangerin­g the state by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack”, the statement said.

Ricin, found naturally in castor beans, can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.

Castrop-Rauxel is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the country’s most populous states. Its interior minister Herbert Reul said: “We had a serious tip-off that prompted the police to intervene during the night. The authoritie­s are now investigat­ing at full speed.”

While the crime carries a prison term of six months to 10 years, it wasn’t however, immediatel­y clear, how far advanced the plans for the attack were, or if there was a specific target.

The police also detained a second individual as part of the searches, with a spokespers­on for the public prosecutor’s office confirming the person to be the suspect’s brother.

According to newspaper Bild, the tip about the alleged plot came from an allied intelligen­ce agency. News agency Dpa cited an unnamed German security official saying there was no indication the suspect had acted on behalf of the Iranian state, but rather that he allegedly supported a Sunni extremist group – a religious minority in Iran.

News about yesterday’s searches also 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.

Five years ago, German police arrested a Tunisian man and his wife on suspicion of planning to carry out a ricin attack in the name of the Islamic State group. They were later found guilty and sentenced to 10 and eight years’ imprisonme­nt, respective­ly.

According to German domestic intelligen­ce services, the number of members or supporters of Islamist causes has shrunk by 1.5 per cent to 28,290 individual­s in 2021, citing the “military breakup” of the militant Islamic State group.

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 ?? (AP) ?? A man being taken into custody by officers in Castrop - Rauxe l yesterday
(AP) A man being taken into custody by officers in Castrop - Rauxe l yesterday
 ?? (AFP/Getty) ?? A dog walker passes the entrance to a house in Castro pRauxelw here police arrested the suspect
(AFP/Getty) A dog walker passes the entrance to a house in Castro pRauxelw here police arrested the suspect
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