Posted on 08/14/2008 5:59:52 AM PDT by LSUfan
DENVER -- Police confirmed Wednesday that they found about a pound of sodium cyanide in a Denver hotel room where the body of a Canadian man was discovered earlier this week.
Police spokesman John White identified the white powder as sodium cyanide, the crystal form of cyanide. Fire officials say they found a bottle containing about a pound of the white powder, or between a pint and a quart by volume.
An expert told the Denver Post that the amount of cyanide is enough to kill hundreds of people.
The medical examiner's office said it is awaiting test results to determine whether cyanide killed 29-year-old Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, of Ottawa, Canada.
His body was found Monday inside Room 408 at The Burnsley Hotel, which is about four blocks from the state Capitol. White said Dirie had been dead for several days. Friends told The Ottawa Sun that he was dead six days before he was discovered.
Foul play is not suspected and his death appears to be an isolated incident, White said.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting in the investigation but FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright said the incident has no apparent connection to terrorism.
"You have a suspicious substance that was found in a hotel room in conjunction with person being a foreign national, and we have a lot of questions and that is why we are assisting," Wright told the Post.
An online threat posted in July by a man with a similar name warned of death.
"Having the bible in one hand, and a bread in the other hand, is not a correct thing! Kill Them , Kill them, Kill them, that is my massage (sic),!" read the posting by Abdirahman Dirie on the 'Solmali's for Jesus' Blog.
It was not clear if Abdirahman Dirie and Saleman Abdirahman Dirie are the same person.
On Tuesday, firefighters and hazmat crews joined the FBI at the hotel, where they cordoned off the neighborhood surrounding the hotel for a second time, and used the case as a "training exercise" in preparation to the Democratic National Convention.
The upscale Burnsley Hotel is about two miles away from the Pepsi Center, where the DNC will be held from Aug. 25-Aug. 27. However, it is not on the list of hotels where delegates are staying.
The last day of the DNC will be held at Invesco Field at Mile High, which is three miles away from the hotel.
Medical examiners had reported a bitter, almond-like smell from Dirie's body after it arrived at the morgue, indicating the possibility of cyanide poisoning.
Authorities have not listed Dirie's occupation or said why he may have had cyanide. White said sodium cyanide is readily available in stores and is the main ingredient in rat poison.
The FBI is also looking into why Dirie was in Denver, how he got here and when he arrived in the United States.
According to the Ottawa Sun, Dirie immigrated to Ottawa years ago and was a member of the city's Somali community. Dirie's father, Abdirahman, who also lives in Ottawa, traveled to Denver when he received the news of the death, said Addirizuk Karod, manager of the Somali Centre for Family Services in Ottawa.
Cyanide is a fast-acting chemical that prevents the body from processing oxygen. It is used in manufacturing, metallurgy and pest extermination. It can also be used as a chemical weapon and was used as a genocidal agent by the Nazis in World War II, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One could be exposed to cyanide by breathing air, drinking water, eating food or touching soil that contains cyanide, the CDC reported.
Inhaling large doses of cyanide could cause comas, seizures, heart attacks, and even death after a few moments.
The four people who had initially touched the man were decontaminated as a precaution. Five occupied rooms on the fourth floor were evacuated and patrons moved to another floor.
Note to self: next time in the Denver area, avoid loding at the Burnsley hotel...especially room 408.
” A Canadian Arab found dead in a convention city with a pound of cyanide, and there is no connection to terrorism?? “
Apparently the concept of Q.E.D is not taught in “FBI Spokesperson Training School”....
” A Canadian Arab found dead in a convention city with a pound of cyanide, and there is no connection to terrorism?? “
Apparently the concept of Q.E.D is not taught in “FBI Spokesperson Training School”....
Headline On OrbusMax...
Daily Kos: ‘If God Can Give Robert Novak a Brain Tomour then Why Cant He Give All of Them One’...
Wonder what he would have said had the “non-terrorist” managed to do his business at the convention?
Riiiiight. I wonder if our 29-year-old-unhealthy-just-dropped-dead-of-natural-causes-while-transporting-enough-cyanide-to-kill-hundreds was of the Muslim creed? And a note to the FBI: You lose integrity when you make statements that everyone knows is a blatant lie.
Just wondering: If this "Canadian" were involved in terrorism and somehow successfully got the poison into the DNC Convention, killing and injuring hundreds, would the Democrats suddenly realize that we are, in fact, in a war against terrorists?
The absurdity of that statement is astounding.
Why? Doesn’t everyone have a few ponds of cyanide around? Look under your kitchen sink and I’ll bet right behind the sarin and pipe bombs you’ll find at least a pound or so.
At least on the good side, it seems like these mooslim morons are always killing themselves by poisoning themselves or blowing themselves up making bombs. Shows real signs of intelligence. More practice boys.
I had to get rid of the sarin and pipe bombs to make room for the centrifuges. ;^)
It was not clear if Abdirahman Dirie and Saleman Abdirahman Dirie are the same person.
Hmmmm? Lessee.... one guy was a proponent of killing people for 'Solmali's for Jesus' Blog.... the other guy got dead from cyanide poisoning. Jesus probably wouldn't have approved of this stunt.
Very odd that a terrorist would use sodium cyanide rather than hydrogen cyanide (deathcamp Zyklon B). Any amateur chemist knows the differences are very important in lethality. Sodium cyanide takes a very strong acid to convert to the highly lethal hydrogen cyanide which boils off at room temperature as cyanide gas. Sodium cyanide is a common industrial chemical used mainly to purify gold. Either he was a goofball jihadist wannabe or a very clumsy jeweler.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:32:14 PM · 33 of 40 informavoracious to gandalftb
Sodium cyanide is a common industrial chemical used mainly to purify gold. Perhaps HYDROGEN cyanide (deathcamp Zyklon B) would arouse suspicion when purchased, whereas the common industrial chemical SODIUM cyanide would have more plausible reasons for being in someone's possession.
Thursday, August 14, 2008 7:07:24 AM · 40 of 40 gandalftb to informavoracious
Agreed, purchasing sodium cyanide is much easier. The problem is converting it to hydrogen cyanide. You need very pure hydochloric acid, a fully contained atmosphere. An industrial labratory..... Self-contained breathing apparatus, chem suits, gloves, TRAINING, lol. Yeah, a hotel room bathroom sink ain't gonna make ya Mr. Wizard. It's gonna make ya Mr. Dead Jihadist. AFTER the body was discovered and autopsied the police were sent back to look for cyanide. Likely, the coroner opened up the body and smelled almonds, a telltale sign of cyanide poisoning they are trained to smell. In any case, there are a host of pathogens at every hardware store that nut-cases can attempt to use to obtain "martyrdom".
Wasn’t he Somalian? A muslim nonetheless...
Its embarrassing-the agency that falsely accused Richard Jewell and Dr Hatfill expects me to believe a word they say and trust their abilities?? A terror attack was just thwarted, evidence of a plan for a mass killing unearthed, and a dead body. And its NOT terror related?
The FBI also said that the Motor Vehicle agent who was found in a burned up car after being outed as one who provided drivers licenses for terrorists was coincidental. Dexter, my cat, is a better investigator..
Oh, well, that's a relief. It's not on a list. For a second there, I thought this guy might be up to something.
Denver is booked solid. Hotels are filled as far away as Pueblo. This hotel might not be on some particular CBV housing list for delegates, but a luxury hotel downtown is going to be filled to the gills with convention VIPs--party poobahs, speakers, elected officials, influence leaders, top-tier media and celebs, and very well-heeled special interests, domestic and otherwise. A much more attractive target than a hotel housing mere rank and file teacher's union types.
...the incident has no apparent connection to terrorism...
Right. I mean, cyanide has plenty of other perfectly legitimate uses. Just because you have to go down to your local Terror "R" Us to get it by the pound means nothing. There is nothing to see here people. Move along, move along.
Now find the KOOL-AID stash and you have solved this case.
A friend in the hotel business told me that the daily housekeeping report would have flagged this in no more than 2 days. A room that hadn't been cleaned/checked would have gotten the attention of management. Possibilities: The dead guy had a friend who accepted fresh towels and put out the dirty ones, etc., and had sufficient comings and goings to keep the room under the radar. Or, there was cover provided from someone inside the housekeeping department. I'd be checking the backgrounds/connections to the maid responsible for her room, and/or supervisors with access to that daily report.
That is what I’ve heard, one of those from Black Hawk down fame no doubt.
But hey, our vaunted f.b.i. says it is not terrorism. I know I trust and believe the f.b.i., when pigs fly.
St. Paul
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