Status: 08.01.2023 11:00 a.m
In the Ruhr area, the police probably prevented an Islamist terrorist attack. Forces arrested a 32-year-old Iranian and another man. The police are investigating at high pressure, according to NRW Interior Minister Reul.
After the anti-terrorist operation in Castrop-Rauxel in the Ruhr area, the police are investigating at high pressure, according to North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul. “We had a serious tip that prompted the police to intervene that night,” Reul told the dpa news agency on Sunday morning. Now the results of the investigation have to be awaited.
“According to the Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, there were serious indications”, Caroline Hoffmann, WDR, about the alleged terrorist attack in NRW being prevented
tagesschau24 10:00 a.m., 8.1.2023
During the night, emergency services arrested a 32-year-old Iranian who is said to have prepared an Islamist attack. According to the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office, the man is suspected of having bought the toxins cyanide and ricin. It is initially unclear how far the attack plans had progressed and whether there was already a concrete target for the attack.
It has not yet been decided whether the suspect will be brought before a magistrate. The preparation of a serious violent act endangering the state can be punished with up to ten years imprisonment. The North Rhine-Westphalia Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for the investigation.
Preparation of a “serious crime”
“The accused is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that is dangerous to the state,” said the investigators. By order of the judge, the suspect’s living quarters were searched for toxins and other evidence.
The man and another person were taken into custody. According to a report by WDR should the two men be brothers. Neither of them resisted. “Evidence has been secured and is being evaluated.”
According to media reports, the Federal Criminal Police Office has been investigating the Iranian for several days. According to “Bild”, a “friend of the secret service” is said to have warned the German security authorities about the danger of a chemical bomb attack.
Special forces prevent a suspected planned terrorist attack in the Ruhr area
C.Hoffmann, WDR, B.Buck, tagesschau, tagesschau24 09:00 a.m., 8.1.2023
Ricin is classified as a weapon of war
Police, fire brigade and rescue workers were on site with a large contingent. Because cyanide and ricin are highly toxic, the evidence was taken to a special investigation site in blue drums.
According to a report by “Bild”, RKI employees were also on site as consultants because of the biological and chemical dangers for the emergency services. Several employees of the Federal Criminal Police Office and a defuse commando were also deployed.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), ricin is included in the war weapons list under “biological weapons”. Depending on the type of intake, the poisoning is fatal – after just 36 to 72 hours. Cyanide is also highly toxic, even the smallest amounts are fatal to humans.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and the deputy SPD parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag and interior politician Dirk Wiese thanked the security authorities and emergency services. “It shows once again how vigilant we have to be. It is now important that the background and possible connections can be clarified comprehensively,” Wiese wrote on Twitter.