Gość: kuk
IP: 207.7.193.*
14.01.05, 09:14
Man Arrested After Ricin Seen in Fla. Home
OCALA, Fla. (AP) - A man was arrested after authorities allegedly found the
deadly toxin ricin stashed in a cardboard box at his home along with a small
cache of weapons, officials said Thursday.
Steven Michael Ekberg, 22, faces up to 10 years if convicted of possession of
a biological agent. FBI agents said they didn't believe Ekberg, arrested
Wednesday, had any connection with terrorist groups.
There was no explanation for how or why he obtained the ricin.
``The chemical substance is derived from the castor bean and that's a natural
substance. I don't think castor beans are difficult to obtain,'' said FBI
Special Agent Jeff Westcott in Jacksonville.
The suspect's mother, Theresa Ekberg, who lives with her son, declined to comment.
The sheriff's office was tipped off last week by an informant who alleged
Ekberg had been carrying concealed weapons into clubs - and boasted of having
ricin in one of several vials and glass tubes he allegedly showed off.
``Ekberg had stated that if the government ever did anything to him, he would
take some sort of action,'' according to a federal criminal complaint.
Ekberg was arrested and released last week for alleged possession of cocaine
and violating the concealed weapons law. A search of his home then revealed a
cardboard box with ricin inside, as well as an Uzi-type submachine gun and two
semiautomatic rifles, a sheriff's report said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as little as 500
micrograms of ricin, roughly the amount that fits on the head of a straight
pin, is enough to kill an adult.
01/13/05 21:47
