Ricin production Man in Cologne accused of preparing for an attack with biological weapon
Köln · According to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Tunisian man detained in Cologne wanted to carry out an attack with a biological weapon. He had been preparing for such an attack.
The Tunisian man accused of manufacturing a deadly toxin in his Cologne apartment, had planned an attack using a biological weapon on an explosive device - a new dimension. These are the findings of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). "It was already very concrete preparation for such an act, with a biobomb, if you want. And that is an unprecedented event in Germany," said BKA President Holger Münch to RBB Inforadio. He said there were instructions from Islamist organizations on the Internet about how to do this and that the man was evidently using this as guidance.
The Federal Court of Justice had issued an arrest warrant for the man a week ago. According to Münch, he had already begun producing the highly toxic ricin. It can be obtained from castor seeds. Münch reported that they also found utensils for the production of an explosive device. According to RBB, a foreign affiliate service reported to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution that the Tunisian had ordered components for building an explosive device via the Internet.
In the opinion of Constitutional Protection President Hans-Georg Maaßen, the man "very likely" planned a terrorist attack. He apparently ordered significantly more than the 1000 castor bean seeds that were initially known. A spokesperson for the Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday that there was evidence of an even larger amount.
“We do not know yet of a concrete target,” said the BKA president. “The question of other persons involved or accomplices also remains open.”
The BKA is concerned about the high number of radicalized individuals who they need to keep an eye on. “The big planned attack, as we have seen in Paris and Brussels, we now think it is not completely unlikely, but less likely, because the so-called Islamic State is already very weakened,” said Münch. At this time, 770 people are classified as a threat.
(Orig. text: dpa / Translation: ck)
