Terrorist Attack with Poisonous Substances Prevented in Germany

On the night of Sunday, January 8, specialised counter-terrorist police team detained a 32-year-old Iranian citizen on suspicion of preparing an “Islamist-motivated attack”. Police special forces stormed the apartment of the Iranian national in the city of Castrop-Rauxel around midnight. The suspect, as well as another man believed to be his brother, were taken outside wearing just their underwear and T-shirts and put into a police van. Neither of them offered any resistance.

"The accused is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that is dangerous to the state," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said. The detainee is accused of acquiring the chemical warfare agent ricin, as well as highly toxic cyanide. The investigating authorities did not specify how far he had advanced in preparing the attack. The possible targets of the attack were not specified.

Tabloid newspaper Bild reported that German authorities had been watching the men for days. They received information about the attack being planned from a “friendly intelligence agency.”

Later that day, AFP reported, citing prosecutor at the Düsseldorf regional court Holger Heming that a search of the suspect's residence found no evidence of presence of hazardous chemicals. According to the dpa agency, the Düsseldorf prosecutor's office requested an arrest warrant for both men.