Three men were charged today with conspiring to make chemical weapons as part of anti-terrorist police investigations into the discovery of the deadly poison ricin in a north London flat last month.
London's Metropolitan police said Rabah Kadre, 35, Mouloud Sihali, 27 and David Aissa Khalef, 20 will appear in court later today charged with conspiring with others to develop or produce a chemical weapon.
In January, police discovered traces of ricin - one of the world's deadliest poisons - in a tiny flat about a pharmacy in Wood Green, north London.
The poison, developed during World War Two by the United States and its allies, has a long history of use in espionage, but experts say it is hard to use as a mass murder agent.
The raid was one of several carried out by anti-terror police around the country since November which have resulted in dozens of arrests - most involving men of north African origin.
In a separate incident later in January, 150 police raided Finsbury Park Mosque in London, arresting seven and seizing tear gas, a stun gun and numerous documents.
British police have arrested more than 300 people under anti-terror legislation nationwide since the September 11th attacks on the United States.