Anti-terrorist investigators arrested an Iranian national in the Ruhr area who is said to have prepared an Islamist attack. Many of the investigators who searched the 32-year-old’s apartment in Castrop-Rauxel on Sunday night wore protective suits – because the man is said to have obtained the toxins cyanide and ricin. Because of the biological and chemical dangers for the emergency services, employees of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) were also on site as consultants. However, no toxins were initially found during the search.
Ricin is a plant toxin that is mainly found in the seeds of the castor tree (Ricinus communis). It is obtained after pressing out the oil from the residue of the seeds. The plant is cultivated for the production of castor oil, under the name Wunderbaum the species is also popular with allotment gardeners as an ornamental plant.
In cells, ricin blocks protein synthesis. It is particularly toxic when injected or inhaled. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, muscle pain, liver and kidney damage and circulatory failure, and if inhaled, effects on the airways such as pulmonary edema. In the event of poisoning, the symptoms are treated, but there are currently no specific therapy options. The RKI lists ricin in the war weapons list under “biological weapons”.
Cyanides – especially potassium cyanide, known as potassium cyanide – have long been used for targeted poisoning. They work not only when swallowed, but also after inhalation through the lungs. When cyanides come into contact with water, hydrocyanic acid (hydrogen cyanide) is formed, which is known for its typical smell of bitter almonds. The respiratory poisons take effect very quickly, and the victims die of respiratory paralysis.
Among other things, cyanides are used to harden steel, in the manufacture of plastics and in the synthesis of organic compounds. Cyan compounds repeatedly lead to mass deaths of fish and other aquatic creatures when they enter water bodies, for example from mines. Poisoning in humans can occur, for example, after eating bitter almonds or apricot kernels. There are also non-toxic cyanides that are used, among other things, as a food additive.
Four years ago, investigations in Cologne showed just how dangerous ricin is: in a 15-story building in the high-rise district of Chorweiler, a Tunisian and his German wife produced the chemical and set off test explosions. A foreign secret service became suspicious about online purchases of large quantities of castor seeds and gave a tip. Both were sentenced to long prison terms.
An expert report showed that, purely arithmetically, 13,500 people could have died from the amount of poison. With the planned spread by a cluster bomb spiked with steel balls, it would have killed around 200 people.
