Slovenia arrests man accused of sending poison letter to Czech officials

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - An Italian man has been arrested in Slovenia on suspicion of sending envelopes laced with poison to Czech officials, police said. The Czech Republic tightened security at government offices after the scare in November. Its government said at the time two poisoned letters were intercepted before reaching the intended recipients, Finance Minister Andrej Babis and Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, and no one was hurt. The envelopes were sent by mail from Sweden and Slovenia, it said. Slovene police spokesman Drago Menegalija said in an email the 24-year-old Italian citizen, from Gorizia in Italy, was arrested in Slovenia last month. "In November 2014, we were informed that several envelopes with a dangerous substance were sent to high Czech officials from Slovenia," he said. He gave no further details and did not say how many letters were sent. "The motive might be disagreement with Czech foreign policy," Menegalija added, saying police had no information that would show that the man was a member of any organization. Police said the man detained could face between three and 15 years in prison if he was found guilty of a terrorist attack. (Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Alison Williams)