Liverpudlian Software Programmer Mohammed Ali was sentenced at the Old Bailey, after being found guilty of attempting to buy the deadly ricin poison on the black market off the web.
He is said to be inspired by the hit drama series Breaking Bad. He was found guilty of trying to purchase ricin between January 10th and February 12th. The amount he asked for would have been enough to kill 1,400 people.
Ali used the username Weirdos 0000 to strike a deal to purchase 500mg of the deadly powder for $500 (£320).
Ali was unknown to the fact that his supplier was actually an undercover FBI agent who then tipped the police in England. The FBI agent also sent Ali a harmless powder instead of actual ricin.
Ali had been planning on testing the drug on an animal as he had made a to do list on his computer which read: ‘paid ricin guy’ and ‘get pet to murder’, the court heard. He had also made a series of internet searches for chinchillas, animal rescue centres, rabbits and “pocket-sized pets”.
In his defence Ali said: ‘I just wanted to test the boundaries of the dark web.’
He said: ‘I found lots of different items ranging from drugs, guns, other illegal items, and because I had been watching Breaking Bad TV show I just had ricin in my mind.’