Investigators apparently foiled a terrorist attack with the poisons ricin and cyanide in the Ruhr area at the weekend. However, the suspected toxins were not found during the search of the apartment. Now garages were searched.
In connection with the anti-terrorist operation against two Iranian brothers in Germany, the investigators carried out further searches. Two garages that are assigned to one of the two accused brothers are affected, said a spokesman for the Düsseldorf public prosecutor on Monday morning. The brothers are said to have tried to obtain poison for an Islamist-motivated attack. However, a search of the home failed to find it.
Investigations had shown that the 32-year-old had the two garages in a backyard in Castrop-Rauxel, the public prosecutor said. Among other things, the so-called Analytical Task Force of the fire brigade is on duty to ensure safe handling of potentially hazardous substances. A decontamination line will be set up.
It is not yet possible to estimate how long the operation will last, he said. It probably depends on what is found. “If there are empty garages, then you open the gates, take a picture of an empty garage and drive again,” he said.
There was no large find of poison, arrest warrant issued
The brothers, aged between 32 and 25, were arrested on Sunday night. They are said to have tried to obtain the toxins cyanide and ricin for an attack. However, the toxins were not found when the 32-year-old’s apartment was searched.
Arrest warrants were issued for the two brothers on Sunday evening. It was initially unclear how concretely the possible attack plans had progressed and what a possible target would have been. The German investigators had become active because of a tip from colleagues from the USA.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of the Interior, Herbert Reul, criticized the hesitance of German politicians to gather information on the Internet. “We are very reserved in Germany,” he said CDU-Politician in ZDF– “Morgenmagazin” on Monday. International cooperation among the security authorities, on the other hand, works so well that information is transmitted very quickly. The police were able to make all the preparations “from one day to the next” and arrest the young men.
(APA/dpa)