French anti-terrorist investigators examined bottles containing traces of the deadly poison ricin which were found in a locker at a busy Paris railway station, amid growing speculation that the find was linked to Islamic militants. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters there could be a connection with nine suspected members of the so-called “Chechen” network who were detained around the capital in December, though he warned there was so far no proof. On January 5 British police found traces of ricin in a raid on a London flat during which five men of North African origin were detained, and Sarkozy noted that instructions for making the poison have been found among documents issued by the al-Qaeda network. French police found the chemicals in a left-luggage locker on Monday after being tipped off by staff at the Gare de Lyon, which serves lines to southeastern France. Under stepped-up security arrangements linked to the war on Iraq, luggage-lockers are routinely searched if they are left unopened for more than three days. Full Story
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