Breaking Bad fan jailed for trying to buy deadly ricin

A man who tried to buy enough ricin to kill 1,400 people after watching the TV show Breaking Bad has been jailed for eight years.

Computer programmer Mohammed Ali, 31, struck a deal with a supplier on the dark web 500 mg of the power for £320.

But the 'supplier' was actually an undercover FBI agent who tipped off counter terrorism police in England and substituted the ricin for harmless powder.

When it was delivered in five vials hidden inside a toy car, police swooped on Ali at his home in Liverpool.

Ali claimed he bought it because he was "curious" and did not know ricin was illegal but he was convicted by a jury.

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.

"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."