In the post-September 11th world, anxieties remain heightened that terrorists could undertake a chemical assault and murder many people. Fortunately, save for the anthrax assaults in the US in 2001, authorities worldwide have kept large-scale threats at bay. German police believe they have prevented a further incident.
The North Rhine-Westphalia Central Office announced the arrest of a 32-year-old suspect for allegedly planning a terrorist act in a statement on January 8. A judge gave the police permission to search the Iranian national’s Castrop-Rauxel residence. He was charged by the authorities with attempting to get ricin and cyanide in order to commit a chemical strike.
An Iranian man has been held in Germany over a suspected chemical attack – Police and prosecutors said the man and another person were detained overnight in the town of Castrop-Rauxel, northwest of Dortmund. via NPR https://t.co/pN3ouIKuYW
— Olav Mitchell Underdal (@omunderdal) January 8, 2023
The officials withheld the age and identity of the second individual they detained in addition to the suspect’s brother. In a statement, officials said that the suspect in the planned attack was an adherent of Islamic extremism. When they investigated the house, the agents discovered no poison. In order to protect themselves from getting sick should they come across harmful chemicals, searchers wore protective suits.
A prosecutor said that the police were made aware of the plot by a helpful foreign intelligence agency. Officials concluded it was crucial enough to search the house as soon as possible after carefully examining the facts.
According to Herbert Reul, a security representative for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, law officers conducted the search the same evening that they received the tip. Authorities are deliberating whether or not to charge the accused formally. If the charges are pursued by the authorities, they each might spend up to ten years in prison.
