A 32-year-old Iranian, suspected of preparing an Islamist attack using cyanide and ricin, was arrested in western Germany, the police and the general prosecutor's office in Düsseldorf announced on Sunday January 8.
His accommodation in Castrop-Rauxel (North Rhine-Westphalia) was searched for possible "
toxic substances
" intended to commit an attack, according to a press release from the general prosecutor's office and the Münster police.
Possible placement in pre-trial detention
The Iranian is "
suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence threatening the security of the State by obtaining cyanide and ricin with a view to committing an Islamist attack
", specify the investigators, adding that a Another person had also been arrested during the operation and taken into custody.
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The main suspect should be presented in the coming days to an investigating judge with a view to his possible placement in pre-trial detention, adds the prosecution.
According to the daily Bild, the German authorities would have been warned several days ago by a foreign intelligence service of the threat of an attack with a “
chemical bomb
”.
Germany has been targeted in recent years by several Islamist attacks, including a ram truck attack on a Christmas market in December 2016 that left 13 dead.
