A package containing the poison ricin, a substance 6,000 times more dangerous than cyanide, was found at the White House post office • Federal Bureau of Investigation: "No risk to human life"
US President Donald Trump // Photo: AFP
A package containing an envelope containing the toxin ricin, one of the most potent toxins in nature, was found in a mail addressed to US President Donald Trump.
The package was located at the White House post office, which is operated by the Secret Service and all without being in the White House itself.
Two laboratory tests determined that it was indeed ricin.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington told the American news network CNN: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation and our comrades in the Secret Service and the Postal Service have opened an investigation into a suspicious envelope received at a government post facility. No public security risk is known at this time."
A similar package was sent to President Trump in 2018, when there was also concern that one of the employees at the post office was exposed to the deadly material.
In 2013, two similar envelopes were sent to former President Barack Obama.
Ricin is one of the most potent toxins known to man and is extracted from the seeds of the castor plant.
Ritzin was formerly used by the Soviet intelligence agency to carry out assassinations and was inserted into the victims' bodies by a capsule fired from an improvised firearm, which could be hidden with an umbrella or walking stick.
Despite the lethality and immensity of ricin, it is impossible to prevent or control its production as it is a simple process that includes available raw materials.