Authorities in Germany have arrested overnight Saturday a 32-year-old man accused of planning a suspected terrorist attack using dangerous toxins.
Investigators arrested the suspect in the town of Castrop-Rauxel, in Germany’s northwestern Ruhr region, who German police confirmed in a statement had planned an «Islamist-motivated attack».
His brother has also been arrested in the investigation, on charges yet to be elucidated.
The main suspect, of Iranian nationality, would have acquired cyanide toxins and ricin, a highly toxic substance, to commit an attack, according to the joint announcement by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office, the Recklinghausen police and the Munster police.
During the early hours of this morning, German authorities searched the man’s accommodation in Castrop-Rauxel, about 15 kilometers northwest of Dortmund and 25 kilometers northeast of Essen, with the aim of finding these substances or other incriminating evidence.
As reported by the German news agency DPA, a large area around the house was cordoned off and a large deployment of police officers, firemen and rescue personnel took place.
The security forces did not find any traces of toxins in the vicinity, sources from the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to DPA. Data storage devices were found and are being analyzed, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
The whole operation is based on information provided by the US authorities, reports DPA, which would be in line with the sources of the newspaper ‘Bild’, which point out that the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had been watching the suspect for days after receiving a tip-off from «a friendly intelligence agency».
«The accused is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence dangerous to the state,» German authorities have said. The evidence is currently being evaluated and the 32-year-old defendant and another person have been taken into custody although it is not yet known whether they will appear in court.
Sources in the Public Prosecutor’s Office told DPA that the individual does not appear to be related to the Iranian authorities. He is said to be a sympathizer of a Sunni terrorist group.
Four years ago another plan to attack with ricin was dismantled in which a Tunisian and a German were arrested and even carried out a test explosion. Both have been sentenced to long prison terms.
On that occasion it was also a foreign intelligence agency that provided the key information to foil an attack that, according to estimates, could have cost the lives of 200 people.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser noted that 21 Islamist attacks have been foiled since 2000. «Our security forces are on constant alert for a possible attack,» she reiterated.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
