Police Trying To Track Down Large Quantity Of Fertilizer
Posted June 9, 2010 6:25 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
As authorities continue to ramp up security ahead of the G8 and G20 summits, investigators are searching for a man who purchased a large amount of explosive-grade fertilizer last month.
Federal regulations require anyone purchasing ammonium nitrate to provide ID, but staff at the Vineyard Growers Co-op in Lincoln, Ont., in the Niagara Region, didn’t record the man’s name on May 26. He had told staff he was buying the product on behalf of a regular customer but staff later learned the two weren’t affiliated.
It’s not uncommon for someone in that agricultural area to purchase that much fertilizer and authorities reportedly believe the man is a local farmer, but the RCMP and Niagara Police aren’t taking any chances.
“It is a legitimate fertilizer in that quantity, it’s just that it is also an ingredient for a bomb,” said RCMP Sgt. Marc LaPorte.
“There is a concern because of the upcoming events in Huntsville and Toronto. We’re taking this potential threat seriously.”
The man bought 60 25kg bags of ammonium nitrate – the same compound that was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168 people. Members of a homegrown terror cell, the so-called Toronto 18, have also been convicted for trying to build ammonium nitrate fertilizer bombs in 2006.
The buyer is described as:
- White, possibly of European descent
- Late 50s to early 60s
- <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:DOCUME~1MARCIA~1.CHELOCALS~1Tempmsohtml1
