Package containing Ricin was intercepted in Donald Trump’s White House mail

Mail addressed to President Donald Trump which appeared to come from Canada has been intercepted after it was found to be laced with the poison ricing.

Donald Trump enters the Oval Office last week. Picture: AFP

An envelope addressed to Donald Trump containing the poison ricin has been intercepted in the White House mail.

The envelope appeared to come from Canada, and no suspects are yet in custody, a US official familiar with the matter said on Sunday AEST.

The official said the envelope was addressed to Mr Trump and contained a letter that included a substance that tested positive for ricin. Law enforcement is investigating possibly similar envelopes addressed to authorities in Texas, the official said.

A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Washington field office said the agency along with the Secret Service and the Postal Inspection Service is investigating a “suspicious letter” received at a US government mail facility.

“At this time, there is no known threat to public safety,” the spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman for Canada’s Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Canadian law-enforcement authorities were working with their US counterparts.

Ricin is a poison derived from castor beans, and exposure to it can be deadly.

Concerns about ricin have periodically surfaced in Washington. In 2018, letters arrived at the Pentagon addressed to senior Defence Department officials. Investigators initially bel­ieved the letters contained ricin, but they later turned out to contain castor seeds.

In a bizarre episode, a Mississippi man pleaded guilty in 2014 to sending ricin-laced, threatening letters to Barack Obama, Republican senator Roger Wicker and a county judge. Investigators had initially zeroed in on another suspect who was an Elvis impersonator, but later realised that he had been set up by a rival.

The Wall Street Journal