Father of two, living in Liverpool, tries to buy deadly ricin powder – then, a pet to test it on

A father of two of Liverpool tried to buy a deadly and poisonous powder ricin on the net - he contacted with a US based firm and placed an order for supply of 500mg of the chemical weapon. The quantity would have been enough to kill at least 1400 persons. However, his plan failed because the ever alert FBI intercepted his calls and, an informer took up the role of the ‘supplier’.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 22 July 2015.

The man is 31-year-old and a computer programmer and he had, allegedly paid $500 for five vials of the poison. He had asked that it be shipped to his home in Liverpool disguised as 'special batteries' for a toy car.
The product ricin was 'the poisoner's perfect poison' - its symptoms are non-specific and it does not show up in a post-mortem examination.
The man then went about searching the net to buy an animal like a rabbit, chinchilla or other 'pocket-sized pet' on which he wanted to try out the effectiveness of ricin.
It is said that a 100mg dose is enough to kill up to 280 people within three to five days, while 500mg can kill between 700 and 1,400.
The police have not come across any evidence to suggest that he has any association with terrorist activities or terrorist organizations, but FBI does not want to take any chances.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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