US man held on ricin charge
2005-01-14 11:23
Miami - A 22-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with possession of a biological weapon, the FBI said on Thursday.
Steven Michael Ekberg was arrested on Wednesday after his Ocala apartment tested positive for the presence of the toxic agent ricin, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
He was arrested late on Wednesday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to Robert Cromwell, special agent in charge of the FBI's Jacksonville division.
Eckberg was due to appear at the Ocala court house at 1:30 pm (1830 GMT) Thurday, after a complaint was filed with the US District Court in Ocala.
Inside his home, agents and officers found substances that later tested positive for ricin, a lethal toxin derived from castor beans.
The FBI said that Ekbert's arrest resulted from an investigation launched late last week.
- AFP