To confirm information of the arrest of a woman allegedly sending an envelope containing ricin to the White House, Reuters contacted US authorities.
Responding to Reuters, the FBI scene office in Washington. DC, issued the following statement: “At the US-Canadian border, we have detained a suspect responsible for sending a suspicious letter”. The statement added: “The investigation is ongoing”.
A separate source of Reuter ssaid that the “suspicious letter” mentioned in the FBI statement was an envelope found to contain ricin sent to the White House. The source also said that the person arrested was a Canadian woman.
On September 19, the Royal Canadian Police (RCMP) said it had received a request for assistance with an investigation from the FBI and the suspicious letter in question appeared to have been sent from Canada.
RCMP added, after analysis, the FBI said inside the envelope there was “the presence of ricin,” a toxin derived from castor seeds.
Although occurring in nature, this poison must be processed to become a biological weapon. People exposed to a small amount like a needle are likely to die within 36 to 72 hours and currently have no antidote.
On September 19, when first asked about the incident, the FBI said it had investigated “a suspicious letter sent to a US government correspondence facility with the US Secret Service and the US Postal Service. “.
The envelope was intercepted at a Trump administration mailing center before it could reach the White House.
In the past, there were envelopes containing ricin sent to US officials. In 2018, a Utah man was indicted on charges of threatening President Trump, FBI Director Christopher Wray and officials by having letters containing castor seed poison.
The two were convicted and sentenced to prison in cases of ricin mailing to Barack Obama when he was president.