Packages Containing Ricin Sent To Pentagon

(Picture:  Mariordo Camila Ferreira & Mario Duran).

Packages containing the poisonous substance ricin have been sent to US Department of Defense's headquarters, the Pentagon in Washington DC.

According to officials quoted by the US media, the envelopes containing the poison were found on Monday.

Reports also state that envelopes were addressed to Defence Secretary James Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson.

Pentagon Colonel Rob Manning was quoted saying the envelopes are in quarantine and "pose no threat to Pentagon personnel".

The FBI say they are analysing the packages.

Ricin is a poison naturally found in castor beans which can be made in the form of powder, a mist, or a pellet, or even dissolved in water or weak acid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They add "it would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people".