German police in the eastern state of Saxony on Thursday raided the home of a 16-year-old boy suspected of manufacturing and storing deadly toxins.
Saxony police said a search had been conducted in the town of Zeithain, some 65 kilometres east of Leipzig, and that investigations were proceeding into a suspected offence under the Weapons of War Act.
The boy is said to have set up a laboratory in the attic of his parents’ home, where he produced a number of ampoules containing a mixture of aconitine and ricin.
Ricin, which is made from the seeds of the castor oil plant, is classified as a biological weapon under the act.
The aim of the raid was to secure all toxic substances and other evidence, the police statement said.
The area around the police operation, including all access roads, has been cordoned off.
A kindergarten and a primary school located near the boy’s home were informed of the operation but did not have to be evacuated, police spokesman Kay Anders said, adding that there was no danger to the population.
Prosecutors said that no arrest warrant had been applied for and that the boy had no criminal record.
Currently, they said there are no reasons requiring his detention.
However, police spokesman Anders told dpa that investigators had already discovered small amounts of toxins during a previous raid at the boy’s home in December.
It came following tip-offs by retailers who are required to report to the authorities when selling sensitive materials such as protective equipment and laboratory technology, he said.
However, this did not seem to have stopped the teenager, who apparently acquired new seeds to continue manufacturing toxins, according to the spokesman.
Experts from Germany’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), are at the scene to aid investigators, the police spokesman confirmed.
Police said it was initially unclear what motivated the teenager to make the toxins.
Ricin is extremely poisonous and can be fatal even when consumed in low concentrations.
According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the alkaloid aconitine is contained in the aconite plant, also known as wolf’s bane.
Around 2 to 6 milligrams of pure aconitine can be fatal for adults, according to the institute.
(dpa/NAN)
