Muslim Doctor Arrested in Ricin Terror Plot in India

 

India: Muslim Doctor, Two Others Arrested for Alleged Ricin Jihad Terror Plot

Nov 10, 2025 1:00 pm By Ashlyn Davis8 Comments

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a 35-year-old Hyderabad-based doctor, along with two accomplices in a multi-city counter-terror operation that authorities say foiled a planned ricin-based attack on sites across India. While Saiyed was intercepted near the Adalaj toll plaza on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana road (Gujarat) and arrested on November 7, his accomplices, identified as  Azad Suleman Sheikh (20) and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan (23), were picked up in Banaskantha district, Gujarat.

The Gujarat ATS arrested three Muslims from the same state for plotting terror attacks in India, while New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, once commented that no Muslims lived in that state because Narendra Modi had killed all of them.

These arrests came after an intelligence tip-off led investigators to a stash of weapons and chemical precursors that the ATS said were intended to be used to produce ricin, a highly toxic compound derived from castor beans. ATS officials told reporters that Saiyed, a Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) graduate from China, had begun preparing ricin by obtaining the necessary substances and conducting chemical research. Investigators further verified that forensic examination of mobile devices and other seized items showed evidence that Saiyed had been experimenting with extracting ricin from castor-seed waste.

Saiyed was also in possession of two pistols, one of which was a Glock model and the other a Beretta model, approximately 30 live cartridges, and four litres of castor oil. The ATS says information recovered from the doctor’s phone helped identify and lead to arrests of two other suspects from Uttar Pradesh: Azad Suleman Sheikh, a tailor, and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan, a student, who are accused of supplying weapons and logistics. Saiyed was also found to have maintained contact with associates in Pakistan. Their sinister plot combined a conventional-arms threat with an attempted chemical attack.

Ricin is an exceedingly potent toxin produced from castor-bean waste, and is lethal even in small quantities if ingested, inhaled, or injected; authorities stress that possession or production of such agents is treated as an act of terrorism under Indian law.

The ATS statement described the operation as “pan-India” in intent. It said the arrested suspects had been researching ways to weaponise castor-derived materials and to obtain firearms via illicit channels, including drone-enabled smuggling. Police have been collaborating with forensic laboratories to determine the scale of ricin production, and whether any batches of the toxin were successfully manufactured.

Officials also confirm the three suspects had conducted reconnaissance of multiple potential targets in Delhi, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad, and had scouted offices and premises of Hindu groups as part of a wider plan. While the ATS refrains from confirming, news reports allege that they might have planned to extract ricin and use it to contaminate public water sources and temple prasad (food offerings) in these cities. The ATS, however, confirms links between the Islamic jihadis and an overseas handler identified in its briefings as “Abu Khadija,” an Afghan-based operative reportedly associated with Islamic State-Khorasan Province.

Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP), also known as ISIS-K, is the South and Central Asian branch of the Islamic State (ISIS). Formed in 2015, it primarily operates in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, but has also attempted to expand its influence across the wider region. The terror group recruits from splinter factions of the Taliban, former jihadis, and jihad-inclined individuals across the region, and has carried out major bombings in Afghanistan targeting civilians and religious minorities, and has increasingly used online propaganda to recruit Muslim youth in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Central Asia for jihad.

The FIR that the Gujarat police registered includes charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to conspiracy and arms offenses, and other applicable statutes. Local law enforcement officials stated that the detained suspects were remanded to judicial custody as the investigation continues. According to court records, Saiyed was remanded until November 17. The investigation will continue, tracing further associates, financial trails, and online connections. Officials are coordinating with central agencies and state police forces in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana to follow up on leads and determine whether additional devices, precursor materials, or accomplices remain at large.

A common but flawed belief is that Islamic terrorism mainly draws in Muslim youth from poor or poorly educated backgrounds who are easily manipulated. The recent arrests must have shattered that assumption by now. The involvement of doctors in plots aimed at large-scale harm shows that commitment to jihad can spread far beyond socio-economic boundaries. These cases reveal that jihadist ideologies can take root even among highly trained Muslim professionals.

German Police Search Apartments for Ricin in Anti-Terror Raids

The New Normal - Terror Plots in Germany

By Sara Shayanian 

Police officers stand guard in front of an apartment block in the Chorweiler district of Cologne, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo by Sascha Steinbach/EPA-EFE

UPI -- Police in Cologne, Germany, searched several apartments in a high-rise complex Friday after finding ricin earlier this week.

Authorities found the highly toxic substance in the apartment of Sief Allah H, a 29-year-old Tunisian man, on Tuesday. He is suspected of planning a biological terror attack. There was enough ricin found for up to 1,000 toxic doses.

Ricin is 6,000 times more powerful than cyanide and can cause organ failure and death within 36 to 48 hours.

The substance can take the form of a powder, a mist, pellet or can be dissolved in water. There is no known antidote.

German police believe the man may have stored more ricin in empty apartments in the same building and searched the area with assistance from the Robert Koch Institute, a German agency responsible for monitoring public health as well as diseases and infections.

The man bought over 1,000 castor seeds, which ricin can be made from, and an electric coffee grinder on the Internet.

Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, said the organization was tipped off about the suspect purchasing the seeds.

"It's very likely a terrorist attack was possibly thwarted," Maassen said.

Judge Sees Nothing Sinister in Purchase of Ricin on Darknet

Enough ricin to kill 1400 people

Toy Lamborghini loaded with ricin

Jihad Watch
He just wanted to get some ricin, you know, to have it around. Don’t you have some in the cookie jar? He just “wanted to know what the fuss was about.” Isn’t that completely plausible? Didn’t you buy some bubonic plague-carrying rats last year, just to see “what the fuss was about”? Let this poor Man of Peace off!

“Shocking pictures show how computer whizz hid ‘deadly ricin’ capable of killing 1,400 inside toy Lamborghini supercar,” by Richard Wheatstone, Mirror, July 29, 2015 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

Mohammed Ali, 31, attempted to purchase the chemical weapon over the ‘dark web’ from his home in Liverpool.

But the software programmer didn’t realise that his supplier was an FBI agent who tipped off police in the UK and sent him harmless powder.

Under the username Weirdos 0000, Ali struck a deal with a supplier on the internet black market to buy 500mg of powder for £320 – enough to kill 1,400 people.

The dad-of-two took delivery of the powder stashed inside five vials hidden inside a battery compartment. Police then swooped on his home and arrested him under anti-terror laws.

Ultraviolet light revealed Ali had handled the package which had been laced with a marker substance.

Ali held his head in his hands as he was found guilty of attempting to have a chemical weapon in his possession at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

He will be sentenced in September and faces a lengthy spell behind bars. Or does he?

The court heard Ali approached the undercover agent in January with a private message: “Hi, would you be able to make me some ricin and send it to the UK?”

In a series of encrypted chats they discussed the price of a lethal dose, discounts for bulk orders and repeat purchases, and ricin’s “shelf life”, jurors were told.

In his defence, Ali told jurors that he was just “curious” and wanted to test the boundaries of the Dark Web unaware that ricin was illegal.

If he was unaware that ricin was illegal, why was he trying to purchase it on the Darknet, why not the regular net?

He told the jury: “I was interested in the Dark Net and ricin. I just wanted to know what the fuss was about.[“]

OK, he knew there was a 'fuss' about ricin, but didn't know it was illegal. How logical is that?

But prosecutor Sally Howes QC said Ali was a “chancer” who lied to police about having ricin when he was arrested in the hope that he would “get away with it”.

And everything about his conduct pointed to a man who carefully and meticulously researched and carried out a plan to buy ricin.

Ms Howes told the jury that ricin was the “perfect poison” because it killed without leaving a trace in the body. Ali had ordered enough to kill up to 1,400 people, although his potential targets were not known.

Justice Saunders said: “There is no evidence that he was planning any sort of terrorist attack.

“There is also no evidence that he had in mind any specific victims for ricin. I do not accept he was going to dispose of it.

“I’m satisfied it would have remained in his possession in some way and that is the basis on which I propose to sentence.”…

Justice Saunders give your head a shake! What was he going to do with the ricin, study it? He's a computer geek, not a chemist. Why would you want something so extremely deadly around your house when you have two kids? Just for fun? I sure hope you wake up before sentencing this man.