TerrorismGerman police arrest man for building a biological weapon
The police in Cologne, Germany, on Tuesday arrested 29-year old Sief Allah H. for trying to build biological weapons in his apartment. He came to Germany in 2016 and had been under police surveillance for terrorist sympathies. In mid-May he ordered 1,000 castor seeds — the main ingredient for used in ricin toxin — and a coffee grinder from an online store. In June he managed to produce the toxin June.
The police in Cologne, Germany, on Tuesday arrested 29-year old Sief Allah H. for trying to build biological weapons in his apartment. He came to Germany in 2016 and had been under police surveillance for terrorist sympathies.
Der Spiegel reports that on Thursday federal prosecutors charged the Tunisian citizen with producing a ricin-based biological weapon. The police found the toxic materials in his apartment.
Sief Allah H. has been arrested for violating the War Weapons Control Act and “preparing a serious act of violence against the state.”
The German security services, which had kept H. under surveillance for some time, became suspicious after H., in mid-May, ordered 1,000 castor seeds — the main ingredient for used in ricin toxin — and a coffee grinder from an online store. In June he managed to produce the toxin.
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger notes that ricin is 6,000 times more powerful than cyanide, and its production and possession are restricted by a 1997 international convention on chemical weapons. Exposure to ricin causes organ failure and death can occur within 36 to 48 hours.
There is no known antidote.
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger says that H. first came to Germany in November 2016, and that he had had sympathies for the Islamic State.
The prosecutors said they have not found evidence the he was planning an attack at a particular time or place, or that he was a member of any terrorist organization.
Der Spiegel notes that H. was following IS’s online instructions for building a ricin bomb.
