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Incidents involving ricin


This is a list of incidents involving the poison ricin.

On September 7, 1978, the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was jabbed in the leg in public on Waterloo Bridge in the middle of London by a man using a weapon built into an umbrella. The weapon embedded a small pellet containing ricin into Markov's leg. Markov died four days later.

On August 14, 1981, exposed CIA double agent Boris Korczak was shot with an air gun which fired a minuscule pellet containing ricin into his kidney. This attempt on his life happened while he was shopping at Giant Food Store in Vienna, Virginia. Korczak and the CIA are convinced that this was the work of the KGB as he had penetrated deep into the secret organization and damaged them for millions of dollars. Korczak survived, which he attributes to the fact that he was shot in the kidney and that his body treated the projectile as though it were a kidney stone, thus limiting exposure of his body to the toxin.

In April 1993, Thomas Lavy was caught while trying to smuggle 130 grams of ricin from Alaska into Canada. Lavy stated that he purchased the ricin to poison coyotes on his farm in Arkansas and keep them away from his chickens. Lavy was stopped at the Beaver Creek border crossing by Canadian custom agents who found, along with the 130 grams of ricin, $89,000, a knife, four guns, and 20,000 rounds of ammunition.

Authorities discovered various toxic substances in the house of Thomas Leahy in Janesville, Wisconsin. They discovered the substances after they had been called to Leahy's home after he had shot his son in the face, following a night of drinking. Among the chemicals discovered were 0.67 grams of ricin and nicotine mixed with a solvent that allowed it to penetrate the skin and have lethal effects. Authorities also found books relating to the production of chemical and biological agents. Chemicals were also found in a storage shed that Leahy kept in Harvard, Illinois. He reportedly told his sister that he was going to use the poison to coat razor blades and mail them to his enemies in hopes that they would cut themselves and be exposed. Leahy pleaded guilty to possession of the ricin and was sentenced to eight years for the shooting and six-and-one-half years for possessing dangerous materials.


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