A letter addressed to the United States President Donald Trump was reportedly found laced with ricin poison. The package was, however, intercepted at a government mail centre before it reached the White House, as per several media reports.
The envelope was intercepted by US authorities, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on September 19, according to a Reuters report.
An RCMP spokesman confirmed, "it has received a request for assistance from the FBI in connection with a suspicious letter sent to the White House." The RCMP added "the FBI conducted an analysis on the substance found in the envelope. This report indicated the presence of ricin, a toxic substance."
RCMP said it is working with the FBI but declined to discuss further details.
Asked about the reports, the FBI said the agency and "U.S. Secret Service and US Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety."
The White House and US Secret Service declined to comment.
Ricin is found naturally in castor beans but it takes a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon. Ricin can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.
There have been numerous incidents involving envelopes mailed with ricin to US officials.
In 2018, a Utah man, William Clyde Allen III, was indicted for making ricin-related threats, including mailing a threat against Trump and other federal officials including FBI Director Christopher Wray, with all the letters "containing castor bean material." Allen remains in custody.
Two people were convicted in separate incidents of sending ricin-tainted letters to then-President Barack Obama.
In May 2014, a Mississippi man, James Everett Dutschke, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to sending letters with the deadly substance to Obama, as well as a U.S. senator and a state judge.
In July 2014, a Texas actor was sentenced to 18 years for mailing letters containing ricin to Obama and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
(With agency inputs)
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