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		</div><p>A computer geek has been jailed for eight years for trying to buy deadly ricin poison from the Dark Web after being inspired by the hit US television series Breaking Bad.</p>
<p>Software programmer Mohammed Ali, 31, was found guilty last month of attempting to possess a chemical weapon between January 10 and February 12.</p>
<p>Sentencing Ali at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Saunders told him that having a chemical weapon was “much more serious that possessing a firearm”.</p>
<p>He said: “It seems to me that this is the sort of case where a deterrent sentence has to be passed.</p>
<p>“Everyone needs to know that the possession of a chemical weapon is extremely serious and long prison sentences will follow.”</p>
<p>The judge commended law enforcement agencies in Britain and the United States for ensuring that ricin – know as the perfect poison for leaving no trace – did not get into Ali’s possession.</p>
<p>He told the court: “I am satisfied so that I am sure, that Mohammed Ali had no intention of disposing of the ricin immediately.</p>
<p>“He intended to keep it. That created a real risk that at some stage in the future he might decide to experiment with it or that it could fall into the wrong hands.”</p>
<p>Ali, who was diagnosed with mild Asperger’s or autistic traits, stood impassively in the dock as he was sentenced.</p>
<p>A woman in the public gallery who is believed to be a family member wailed loudly as he was sent down.</p>
<p>Earlier in mitigating, Joel Bennathan QC said: “Mr Ali has a large supportive family who care for him.</p>
<p>“They are distraught and appalled by the mess he has got into. When he is released he will be supervised and will be occupied in order to make a living and looked after by his family.”</p>
<p>Under the username Weirdos 0000, Ali struck a deal with a supplier on the internet black market to buy 500 mg of powder for 500 US dollars, enough to kill 1,400 people.</p>
<p>Ali was unaware that his source Psychochem was in fact an FBI agent who tipped off police in England and substituted the consignment of ricin for harmless powder.</p>
<p>After the father of two took delivery of a toy car with five vials hidden in the battery compartment, police swooped to arrest him at his home in Prescot Road, Liverpool.</p>
<p>Under ultraviolet light, Ali’s face lit up showing that he had handled the package – which had been specially treated with a marker substance.</p>
<p>Computer analysis showed that Ali first began trawling the internet for information on poisons such as abrin, ricin and cyanide in October last year.</p>
<p>The court heard Ali approached the undercover agent in January with a private message: “Hi, would you be able to make me some ricin and send it to the UK?”</p>
<p>In a series of encrypted chats, they discussed the price of a lethal dose, discounts for bulk orders and repeat purchases, and ricin’s “shelf life”, jurors were told.</p>
<p>At one point Ali asked: “How do I test this ricin?” and received the instruction: “You must test it on a rodent.”</p>
<p>Records showed that on February 4 – days before the delivery – he made a payment of 2.1849 Bitcoins, the online currency.</p>
<p>Around this time, Ali had made a to-do list on his computer which included the entries “paid ricin guy” and “get pet to murder”, the court heard.</p>
<p>He had also made a series of internet searches for chinchillas, animal rescue centres, rabbits and “pocket-sized pets”.</p>
<p>In his defence, Ali told jurors that he was just “curious” and wanted to test the boundaries of the Dark Web, unaware that ricin was illegal.</p>
<p>He said: “I found lots of different items ranging from drugs, guns, other illegal items, and because I had been watching Breaking Bad TV show I just had ricin in my mind.”</p>
<p>Afterwards, Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “Ali attempted to buy a deadly poison and we can only speculate on what he planned to use it for, but in any case such as this, we take swift and decisive action.</p>
<p>“Thanks to the vigilance of officers from a number of different law enforcement agencies, we were able to intervene before this man did get hold of such a deadly substance from a genuine seller.</p>
<p>“I want to reassure our communities that the North West Counter Terrorism Unit and local police are well aware of the potential dangers associated with internet activity on the ’dark web’.”</p>
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