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United Kingdom: British Officer Dies in Ricin-Related Arrests A knife-wielding terrorism suspect killed 40-year-old British police officer Stephen Oake yesterday in Manchester during the arrests of three suspects connected to the current ricin investigation, the London Independent reported today (see GSN, Jan. 14). “It’s been a rather terrifying day and a rather traumatic day with one of our officers losing his life,” Michael Todd, Greater Manchester chief constable, said (the London Independent, Jan. 15). Four other officers were wounded in the apartment raid, though none had life-threatening injuries, the New York Times reported. Police did not expect to find chemical weapons at the scene of the raid, but officers were still conducting forensic tests, according to Todd. “We had no suspicion that we were likely to find ricin on the premises — we were looking for an individual,” he said (Warren Hoge, New York Times, Jan. 15). Officers arrived at the apartment looking for a single person and found him with two other men, according to Alan Green, Greater Manchester assistant chief constable (Financial Times, Jan. 15). The three men, aged 23, 27 and 29, are all of North African origin. They are being held under British anti-terrorism legislation (Independent, Jan. 15). None of the officers involved in the raid were armed and Oake was not wearing body armor, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo.com, Jan. 15). Police also said yesterday that six people arrested Monday in Bournemouth were not connected to the ricin case, the New York Times reported. The suspects are now believed to be involved in a hoax and might have violated immigration rules, according to the Times. Authorities blamed media speculation for reports that the six suspects were linked to the ricin investigation (see GSN, Jan. 13; Hoge, New York Times).
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