German Police Suspect Terror Plot, Large Amount of Toxin Found in Migrant's Flat

Police have discovered one of the most toxic substances known in the apartment of a migrant living in the German city of Cologne, the Spiegel magazine reported, citing prosecutors.

A 29-year-old migrant from Tunisia was arrested on June 12 after police found large amounts of the deadly toxin ricin stored in his home.

German law enforcement agencies said they could not exclude that the poison was being used to prepare a terrorist attack. However, experts will have to further examine the substance in order to make final conclusions. Currently the case is being investigated as "a serious act of violence threatening the state."

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Initially, the police detained both the man and his wife, who is a German citizen who converted to Islam. However, the woman was released shortly afterwards. According to the newspaper Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, the couple has four young children.

According to the media outlet, the suspect arrived in Germany in November 2016 and had no previous criminal records.

Ricin is an extremely poisonous organic substance found in certain plants. The poison is six times more toxic than potassium cyanide and there is no antidote for it. To kill a person or to do damage someone's health, this poison must enter the body by being inhaled or be injected directly into the blood.