Breaking Bad fan sentenced to 8 years in jail after attempting to buy ricin poison

London: A British court has sentenced a Pakistani-origin software programmer to eight years in jail in London after he tried to buy deadly ricin poison online after being inspired by hit US television series ‘Breaking Bad’. Mohammed Ali was found guilty of attempting to possess a chemical weapon at a trial at Old Bailey court for sourcing the poison from the “dark web”. The 31-year-old told jurors he was just “curious” and wanted to test the boundaries of the so-called “dark web” internet black market, and was unaware ricin was illegal. [caption id=“attachment_2439124” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Walter White with a vial of ricin in the hit TV show Breaking Bad. Screengrab from YouTube[/caption] “I was interested in the dark web and ricin. I just wanted to know what the fuss was about,” he said. Under the username ‘Weirdos 0000’, Ali struck a deal with a supplier online to buy 500mg of powder for USD 500 - enough to kill 1,400 people. 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. After the father of two took delivery of a toy car with five vials hidden in the battery compartment, British police officers arrested him at his home in Liverpool. Justice Saunders told him: “It seems to me that this is the sort of case where a deterrent sentence has to be passed. “Everyone needs to know that the possession of a chemical weapon is extremely serious and long prison sentences will follow.” Ali, who was diagnosed with mild Asperger’s or autistic traits, stood impassively in the dock as the sentence was announced. The judge continued: “I am satisfied that Mohammed Ali had no intention of disposing of ricin immediately. 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 it fall into the wrong hands.” Ali, a computer geek, first heard about ricin after watching the US crime drama ‘Breaking Bad’. It is a highly toxic material produced in the seeds of castor oil and just a tiny dose of the purified powder are enough to kill a human. PTI