British authorities have charged four men with “being concerned in the development or production of chemical weapons” and “possessing of articles of value to a terrorist” after they were arrested last week in connection with the discovery of ricin in a north London apartment, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 10).

The four men — Mouloud Feddag, Sidali Feddag, Samir Feddag and Mustapha Taleb — are scheduled to appear in court today.

British officials also charged Nasreddine Fekhadji, arrested last week in connection with the case, with forgery and counterfeiting charges.  A sixth man thought to be involved in the case was arrested again for drug and immigration offenses and a seventh man was transferred to immigration officials, AP reported.

Authorities arrested six more people yesterday in connection with the ricin investigation, AP reported.  Five men and a woman were picked up in Bournemouth on England’s south coast, according to the AP report (Associated Press/USA Today, Jan. 13).

All the suspects arrested last week hold Algerian passports, the Financial Times reported today (Mark Huband, Financial Times, Jan. 13).

Police are now looking for one more suspect, who officials believe is the leader of the alleged terrorist group, the Straits Times reported today (Alfred Lee, Straits Times, Jan. 13).

Authorities have denied earlier reports that the suspects were arrested after a tip from French officials, the Financial Times reported (Huband, Financial Times, Jan. 13).

The United States began experimenting with ricin toward the end of World War I, but former U.S. President Richard Nixon ended all such research in 1969, the New York Times reported.

U.S. researchers determined that although ricin is easy to produce, it is difficult to use as a weapon of mass destruction, the Times reported (William Broad, New York Times, Jan. 12).

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