Ricin found in Paris
2003-03-20 23:54
Paris - Traces of the deadly poison ricin have been found in two vials inside a locker at Paris' Gare de Lyon railway station, the interior ministry said on Thursday.
The find was made by police on Monday after a telephone call from the state railway company SNCF.
The locker contained "two vials with a powder, a bottle filled with a liquid and two smaller bottles also containing a liquid", said the ministry in a statement.
The two smaller bottles contained "traces of ricin in a mix that turned out to be a very toxic poison," the ministry added.
Ricin, a toxin found in castor beans, is one of the most vicious naturally-occurring poisons.
The substance, which has already been used as a bio-weapon, was seized by British police in a raid in North London in January.
It is 6 000 times more powerful than cyanide. A speck weighing only 70 micrograms - something no bigger than a grain of salt - is enough to kill an adult.
It came to prominence in 1978, when a Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov, was killed by secret agents in London who used a toxin-laced pellet fired from an umbrella tip.
- SAPA