Mounties arrest man after federal official receives fake anthrax threat in the mail
Suspect connected to multiple hoax terrorism threats in Canada and abroad
The RCMP have laid hoax terrorism charges after a government office receieved a fake threat in the mail.
On April 29, a staff member of a government office in Ottawa opened a letter addressed to a federal official that contained a letter that read “you’ve been anthraxed.” A chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives team was sent to assess the letter and based on field tests, they found no trace of the Antrax disease on the letter or envelope.
The Mounties said evidence gathered led them to arrest a 63-year-old man from St. Catherines, and during a search warrant, police discovered more unsent letters making similar threats. The Mounties were able to intercept other letters of the same type, mailed to both domestic and foreign government officials. Investigation even uncovered links to a string of similar letters sent to Government of Canada officials in 2020, claiming those letters had been infected with COVID-19.