Letter containing poison addressed to Donald Trump at White House
A United States law enforcement has reportedly intercepted a letter containing ricin poison that was addressed to US President Donald Trump this week.
According to reports, the letter was discovered at a screening facility for White House mail earlier this week, on Saturday, September 19.
The substance found inside the envelope and was identified as ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans before it was to be delivered to the White House.
Ricin is a lethal substance that, if swallowed, inhaled or injected, can cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding, and ultimately organ failure which will lead to death.
Also, if someone exposed to ricin, death can take place within 36 to 72 hours, depending on the dose received.
According to CNN, investigators said they are looking into the possibility that the ricin package sent to Trump came from Canada.
The chief spokeswoman for Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, Mary-Liz Power, in a statement, said;
“We are aware of the concerning reports of packages containing ricin directed toward US federal government sites. Canadian law enforcement is working closely with their US counterparts. As this is an active investigation we cannot comment further.”
The statement also said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service are investigating to find out who sent the package.
“The FBI and our U.S. Secret Service and U.S. 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 FBI’s Washington field office said in a statement to CNN.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they are working with the FBI to investigate the “suspicious letter sent to the White House.”
