Germany: Man arrested on suspicion of planning ‘Islamist-motivated’ poison attack

January 8, 2023

The 32-year-old, an Iranian citizen, was arrested in the city of Castrop-Rauxel, in western Germany, on Sunday.

“The suspect is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence endangering the state by allegedly procuring

cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack,” a joint press release from the Dusseldorf public prosecutor’s office and local police said.

A second individual, confirmed to be the suspect’s brother, was also detained as part of the searches.

Police raided the suspect’s home following a tip-off from an agency of what German officials described as a “friendly state”. Though police did not confirm the identity of the state, the German tabloid Bild said the agency in question was the FBI.

German police seized electronic devices during the raid. However they did not find cyanide or ricin during the search, Holger Heming of the Dusseldorf public prosecutor’s office told reporters.