National

Police identify Russian suspects in UK nerve agent attack, report says

LONDON — Police believe they have identified the suspects behind the poisonings of four people with a Soviet-made nerve agent, British media reported Thursday.

Police think several Russians were involved in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former spy, and his daughter Yulia in the southern English city of Salisbury in March, the Press Association news agency reported. The pair were found unconscious on a bench after they came into contact with Novichok nerve agent. They were taken to the hospital in critical condition and have now been released.

Investigators identified the suspects by cross-checking surveillance footage with records of people who entered Britain at the time, the Press Association said, citing an unnamed source.

Britain blames Russia for the poisonings but Russia denies any involvement.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, died July 7, a week after she and her partner Charlie Rowley were found unconscious in the town of Amesbury, about 10 miles from Salisbury. Authorities say they were also poisoned with Novichok.

The London Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the incident, said they found the source of the nerve agent — a small bottle in Rowley’s house.

Rowley’s brother, Matthew Rowley, told the BBC that his brother, who regained consciousness last week, said he picked up a perfume bottle that contained the chemical.

Sturgess was exposed to at least 10 times the level of Novichok that the Skripals came into contact with, the Press Association reported. The news agency said police are investigating whether she picked up the discarded perfume bottle and sprayed herself with the substance.

British authorities believe Sturgess and Rowley were not directly targeted. Sergei Skirpal was jailed in Russia for passing state secrets to Britain before he was released in a spy swap and moved to Salisbury.