A letter sent to a South Carolina post office containing ricin was not an act of terrorism, but was an act of extortion by a truck driver, according to a published report.
The letter threatens to put a large quantity of ricin into an unidentified water supply if the federal government doesn't reverse its new Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules, which go into effect January 4, according to the American Trucking Assns. (ATA)
According to published reports, the vial was found at the postal facility in Greenville last week.
An ATA statement said the Trucking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) has been working confidentially with the Dept. of Homeland Security to assist the FBI in this investigation.
ISAC told the industry to be alert for either a "potential disgruntled trucking company, trucking company employee or person purporting to be from the trucking industry who may be or has in the recent past made threatening statements or displaying suspicious or aggressive actions regarding the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, specifically the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
ISAC said the letter "holds hostage" the new HOS rules, stating that if the regulation is not rolled back, the writer will stage an incident using large quantities of ricin.
