German police arrest man in chemical attack plot

Investigators in protectives suits at the scene in Castrop-Rauxel (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

Authorities in western Germany have arrested an Iranian man on suspicion of planning an attack with deadly chemicals.

Police and prosecutors said early on Sunday that the 32-year-old and another person were detained in the town of Castrop-Rauxel, north-west of Dortmund.

They said the man is suspected to have planned a serious attack motivated by Islamic extremism, for which he had allegedly obtained cyanide and ricin.

Investigators in protectives suits at the scene in Castrop-Rauxel (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

Photos from the scene showed specialists wearing anti-contamination suits carrying evidence out of a property, reported to be the arrested man’s home.

German newspaper Bild said authorities had received a tip-off from an allied intelligence agency about the alleged plot.

Five years ago, German police arrested a Tunisian man and his wife on suspicion of planning to carry out a ricin attack in the name of the Islamic State group. They were later found guilty and sentenced to 10 and eight years in prison, respectively.