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| Europe |
| Three more sought in ricin hunt |
| 2003-01-08 |
| Britain's anti-terrorism police are looking for three more people in connection with the discovery of the deadly poison ricin in a north London flat. Six men - understood to be Algerians (I was right!)- were arrested on Sunday and security experts are trying to establish if they have links to al-Qaeda. Doesn't everyone? Only small traces of ricin were found in the operation - launched after a tip-off - but there are concerns an amount of poison could have been made at the flat and has been moved. Security sources said police were now looking for three more "key individuals" in connection with the case. They caught the cannon fodder, looking for the leaders Tony Blair said the arrests showed the continued threat of international terrorism was "present and real and with us now and its potential is huge". Castor oil beans - from which ricin is made - and equipment and containers for crushing the beans were found at the Wood Green flat where one of the men was arrested. Followed the instructions in their al-Queda training manual, or they watched the same episode of CSI I did last week. Doctors around the country have been alerted and told to look out for symptoms of ricin poisoning. Dead bodies? However, it is not believed to be an obvious choice for a weapon of mass destruction. To take effect, the toxin must enter the body by direct ingestion, inhalation or injection meaning it is more associated with assassination. That's what I'm thinking The most notable ricin case was the 1978 murder of the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov. The KGB were suspected to be behind the killing, initiated on London's Waterloo Bridge using a poison tipped umbrella. I believe the Bulgarians handled this for the KGB All of the men were arrested on Sunday morning and are in their late teens, 20s and 30s. Forensic analysis should reveal whether the ricin was made at the flat, although officers believe this to be the case. Ricin is considered a potential biowarfare or bioterrorist agent and is on the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's "B" list of agents - considered a moderate threat. Large quantities were reportedly found in caves in Afghanistan. It is relatively easy to manufacture in small amounts but would be considered an unusual agent to use for a mass attack as it must be ingested, inhaled or injected to take effect. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 KGB: The Inside Story of Its Foreign Operations from Lenin to Gorbachev http://www.anybook4less.com/detail/0060166053.html |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-01-08 15:39:32 |
| #3 History break:According to the former KGB chief archivist Vasili Mitrokhin and the historian Christopher Andrew,the Bulgarians requested the Centre's (KGB) help in killing Markov,who was a big embarrassment to the Bulgarian regime. KGB chief Juri Andropov agreed to help,on the condition that Moscow's part in the assassination kept to technical advice and training.The actual murder was done by the Bulgarians themselves.There was also an attempt on the life of another dissident émigré,Vladimir Kostov,but that one failed due to poison pellet remaining intact. Source:"The Mitrokhin Archive" (Andrew/Mitrokhin) (aka "The Sword and the Shield" in the U.S.) |
| Posted by: El Id 2003-01-08 13:49:39 |
| #2 Bulgarians were contracted to do all of the KGB's "wet work", or so people say (Tom Clancy, for one). Maybe we should be on the lookout for sudden umbrella purchases? |
| Posted by: Nick 2003-01-08 10:34:47 |
| #1 BBC UPDATE: "French intelligence services provided the tip that led British authorities to arrest six men and find traces of the deadly poison ricin in a London apartment, sources told CNN. The men being questioned by authorities are Algerian and have been in Britain no more than three months, the intelligence sources said on Wednesday. They added that the suspects may have been connected to others involved in earlier reconnaisance missions." Friends of the group the French caught last month making bombs, perhaps? |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-01-08 09:41:47 |