Powder letter
Powdered letters were discovered at various government agencies in Brussels on Thursday. Although no one was injured when the suspicious envelopes were opened, analysis shows that they contained a toxic substance. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the case, but it is unclear who the sender is for the time being.
These are three letters, which were discovered yesterday in the offices of State Security on Albert II-laan, the Court of Cassation in the Brussels Palace of Justice and in the office of the Minister of Justice on Kruidtuinlaan.
“After the letters with the powder were found at various locations, the police services were notified,” says Yasmine Vanoverschelde of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office. “All persons who came into contact with the powder were isolated and investigated. No one was injured. The fire brigade also always arrived on site to make the initial observations and set up a perimeter.”
Brucine
The public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the sender of the letters, but the powder was also analyzed. “The first results are known,” says Vanoverschelde. “The white powder found in the letters contains the toxic substance Brucine. This substance is only dangerous when someone actually ingests it. Contact with the skin poses no danger. The people involved who came into contact with the toxic substance are currently in good health.”
It is currently unknown who sent the letters. “The investigation is currently in full swing to find out who the senders of the letters are and what the motive is,” the public prosecutor’s office said. “We can say that the first results of the investigation have shown that these facts have nothing to do with the shooting incidents in recent days in Brussels.”
