Status: 08.01.2023 02:42 a.m
Anti-terror investigators have arrested a man in the Ruhr area who is said to have prepared an Islamist attack. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the Iranian national is said to have procured several toxins for this purpose.
In Castrop-Rauxel in the northern Ruhr area, anti-terrorist investigators arrested a 32-year-old man and searched his apartment. The Iranian national is said to have planned an Islamist attack.
The man is suspected of having obtained the toxins cyanide and ricin for the crime, said the Düsseldorf public prosecutor, the Recklinghausen police and the Münster police.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, ricin is listed under “biological weapons” in the war weapons list.
Preparation of a “serious crime”
“The accused is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that is dangerous to the state,” the investigators said. “The search serves to find corresponding toxins and other evidence.”
The man and another person were taken into custody. “Evidence has been secured and is being evaluated.” It has not yet been decided whether the suspect will be brought before a magistrate.
living quarters searched
During the night, the living quarters of the 32-year-old in Castrop-Rauxel were searched by order of the judge. The site was cordoned off over a wide area. Police, fire brigade and rescue workers were on site with a large contingent. Numerous emergency services wore protective suits, as a reporter from the dpa news agency reported.
The area around the stormed apartment was cordoned off. A decontamination point has been set up at the Recklinghausen fire brigade, the “Ruhr Nachrichten” reported. Emergency services in protective suits took care of the items that had been seized and that had been brought to the fire brigade in blue drums.