FBI probing ricin toxin letter

2003-10-23 10:24

Washington - Traces of the deadly toxin, ricin, were found on a letter at a South Carolina postal facility, federal officials said on Wednesday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating, but terrorism was not suspected.

The letter appeared to be connected to an extortion plot, said government officials.

"Based on the evidence so far, we do not believe this is linked to terrorism, but is related to threats criminal in nature," said Brian Roehrkasse, spokesman for the homeland security department.

Officials also said the ricin did not pose a health threat to workers or the public.

The ricin on the outside of the letter was identified by the federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday night.

It was discovered on a sealed envelope found last week in a postal facility in Greenville, South Carolina, said three government officials.

The envelope also included a small, sealed container of a substance that also turned out to be ricin, said the officials. A letter inside the envelope indicated some sort of extortion plot.

Officials would not say to whom the envelope was addressed nor why it was singled out for inspection.

Death in less than 72 hours

The FBI has repeatedly warned local police about the possibility that terrorists might use ricin, which is made from the castor plant, in an attempt to poison people through ventilation systems, drinking supplies or in food.

When it is inhaled or ingested, serious symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness and low blood pressure can occur within eight hours.

Death can come between 36 hours and 72 hours after exposure and there is no treatment for victims.

British police earlier this year arrested seven members of an Algerian extremist group on charges of plotting to kill a small number of people with ricin to terrify the London population.

Instructions for making ricin also were found in an al-Qaeda safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to the FBI.

Ricin has also been used in the United States in crimes that have no connection to terrorism.

Last summer, a Washington man was convicted of making and possessing enough ricin to kill 900 people.

- AP