Ricin assassinations using

Several countries have stockpiled a limited number of toxins. Their use on the battlefield has been alleged (e.g., Laos, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan) but not documented to the extent that it is universally accepted. Toxins have been used for political assassinations (e.g., 1978 murder of Georgi Markov with ricin) and terrorists have threatened the use of toxins, usually through contamination of food or water supplies. 

Ricin would probably be aerosolized, but it could also be used by an assassin who might prepare it for ingestion or injection. Ricin is not nearly as potent as the C. botulinum toxin, and thus would have to be produced in very large quantities for large-scale use. 

Ricin had been one of a series of poisons which the British had considered for use in assassinations during the Second World War. Indeed, even in the 1960s research was still being conducted into the effects of the poison under a contract with Exeter University. But the public evidence of British interest in Ricin was small in comparison with the work which had been carried out in eastern Europe. Even a superficial scan of the published research papers on Ricin revealed a surprisingly high proportion of the work to have been carried out in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.1... 

Assassination of CIA agent Boris Korczak in McLean, Virginia, Tyson s Corner, using a ricin weapon, possibly in umbrella configuration [75]. 

The attractiveness of ricin did not diminish because it found new grounds in the United States. In 1983, the FBI obtained one ounce of ricin oriented in a 35-mm film canister from an individual in Springfield, Massachusetts, who had manufactured it himself. This is believed to be one of several confiscations of ricin [76]. In 1993, an Arkansas man with survivalist group connections attempted to smuggle 130g of ricin from Alaska into Canada to use as a weapon [164]. Later, in 1995 two members of the Minnesota Patriots Council were convicted of conspiracy to assassinate a deputy U.S. Marshal and International Revenue Service agents by ricin [127]. 

Fig. 18-2. A pellet of this type, designed to contain ricin toxin, was used to assassinate Georgi Markov in London and in the attempt on the life of Vladimir Rostov in Paris. The tiny, platinum-iridium pellet—the size of the head of a pin (0.068 in. diameter)—was cross-drilled with 0.016-in. holes in which ricin (or another toxin) could be placed. Reprinted from van Keuren RT. Chemical and Biological Warfare, An Investigative Guide. Washington, DC Office of Enforcement, Strategic Investigations Division, US Customs Service October 1990 90.

Ricin is not an infectious agent but rather is a potent protein toxin produced from castor beans (Figure 3.5). Castor beans are common worldwide and the toxin is easy to produce. It makes a good bioweapon (better for assassination than for mass exposure) because it is stable and can be administered by several routes (inhalation, oral, or injection). Although ricin is not as deadly as some toxins, the ease of its production makes it attractive as a weapon. It has been especially attractive for small terrorist organizations that lack funds for obtaining more deadly weapons. Aerosol would be the most effective delivery method, but it is difficult to produce ricin particles in the 5-micron range so it is less useful for mass exposures. 

Ricin has been used for at least one political assassination via injection. In 2003-2004, letters containing ricin were mailed to several U.S. government agencies, including the White House and Senator Bill... 

The toxins ricin and abrin cause widespread damage to DNA in the body leading to multiple organ failure. Until recentiy, it was thought that they could only be introduced into the body by an injection, but there are indications that they could be active by inhalation of an aerosol. Ricin can be extracted from castor oil plants and there have been reported attempts to do this by terrorist cells. Ricin is highly toxic and was used in the assassination of the Bulgarian diplomat Georgi Markov in London in 1978. At present, there is no specific antidote for toxic trauma caused by ricin. 

The Bulgarian defector Georgy Markov is assassinated in London using a ricin pellet injected into his leg with an umbrella. 

The best-known documented use of ricin as a chemical agent occurred in 1978, when the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was assassinated by use of a tiny (1.52 mm diameter) pellet contaminated with ricin allegedly fired into his leg by a sophisticated compressed-air gun that was incorporated into the tip of an umbrella. 

TOXIN. A poisonous substance that occurs naturally in animals, bacteria, or plants. Examples include botulinum toxin, ricin, and tbe tri-chothecene mycotoxins. Some toxins can be produced artificially through chemical synthesis. The military relevance of toxins was recognized during World War I, when the U. S. Army Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) conducted research and production of selected toxins at the Catholic University of America. Weapons having toxins as their primary payload are controlled as both chemical weapons (CW) (under the Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC]) and biological weapons (BW) (under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention [BTWC]). Toxins have also seen use as assassination weapons. See also JUGLONE SAXITOXIN. 

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