An IT ‘geek’ was jailed for eight years today for trying to buy deadly ricing poison from the Dark Web smuggled in to Britain in a toy Lamborghini.
Mohammed Ali, 31, from Liverpool, had been ‘inspired by Breaking Bad’ and ordered five vials of the deadly poison – enough to murder 1,400 people.
The married father of two had been a big Breaking Bad fanatic and said the show had inspired him to hunt the dark web for weapons and drugs before searching for ricin.
He had planned to test the poison on animals like rabbits he planned to take in from shelters and wrote in a diary ‘get pet to murder’.
Sentencing Ali to eight years at the Old Bailey today, Mr Justice Saunders told him: ‘It seems to me that this is the sort of case where a deterrent sentence has to be passed.
‘Everyone needs to know that the possession of a chemical weapon is extremely serious and long prison sentences will follow.’
The judge commended law enforcement agencies in Britain and the United States for ensuring that ricin – known as the perfect poison for leaving no trace – did not get into Ali’s possession.
He told the court: ‘I am satisfied that Mohammed Ali had no intention of disposing of ricin immediately. He intended to keep it.
‘That created a real risk that, at some stage in the future, he might decide to experiment with it or it fall into the wrong hands.’
According to investigators, the father had initiated contact with the ‘seller’ on January 11 asking for ricin to be sent to the UK.
When he was given the prices which the FBI said was $200 (£130) per lethal dose, the buyer, which the prosecutor says is Ali, replied: ‘Could you do it a little cheaper if I bought more?’
