A 32-year-old Iranian man has been arrested in Germany for allegedly planning an ‘Islamist-inspired’ attack.
North Rhine-Westphalia police said in a statement that the man was plotting to use cyanide and ricin to commit “serious violence”.
They raided the man’s Kastrup-Raxel residence in the Ruhr region, where they found “toxic substances”.
Ricin is considered a highly toxic biological weapon.
Another person was also arrested and the couple is in custody.
JEE News reported that several emergency workers in protective clothing attended the scene.
The investigation is ongoing, and it was initially unclear how far the plans for the attack had progressed.
A charge of ‘serious acts of violence endangering the state’ carries a prison sentence of six months to ten years.
Germany has been the target of numerous Islamist attacks in recent years. In 2016, a truck attacked Christmas markets in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens.
