Two envelopes addressed to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson have tested positive for the deadly poison ricin after it was detected at a Pentagon mail-sorting facility. According to a Defense Department spokesman, the packages were delivered Monday and intercepted before they made it into the enormous headquarters of the Department of Defense.
The Military Times reports that the packages triggered alarms while undergoing security screenings at an off-site mail processing center.
The U.S. Department of Defense tweeted Tuesday saying the package was taken by the FBI for further investigation and analysis.
The #Pentagon Force Protection Agency detected a suspicious substance during mail screening at the Pentagon's remote screening facility. The envelopes were taken by the @FBI this morning for further analysis. All @USPS mail received at the #Pentagon mail screening facility yesterday is currently under quarantine and poses no threat to Pentagon personnel.
"On Monday, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency detected a suspicious substance during mail screening at the Pentagon’s remote screening facility," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Rob Manning said in a statement. "The envelopes were taken by the FBI this morning for further analysis."
"All USPS mail received at the Pentagon mail screening facility yesterday is currently under quarantine and poses no threat to Pentagon personnel," Manning added.
Ricin is a highly-toxic, naturally occurring poison that is lethal in small amounts if ingested. Ricin can be manufactured using castor beans and turned into a powder that is 6,000 times more potent than cyanide. Symptoms of Ricin poisoning can include; nausea, vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines.
Photo: Getty Images