In a stunning twist in the notorious Novichok poisoning case, an inquiry has heard that an unsuspecting “bin surfer” may have stumbled upon the deadly nerve agent just minutes after Russian assassins discarded it in the wake of their brazen attack. The shocking revelation, disclosed during testimony at the ongoing Wiltshire poisonings inquiry, casts new light on the bizarre and tragic chain of events that ultimately claimed the life of an innocent British woman.
Fateful Find in a Salisbury Car Park
According to evidence presented by a top counter-terrorism officer, Charlie Rowley, known to scavenge for valuables in charity shop bins, was captured on CCTV in Salisbury city centre on March 4, 2018 – the same day former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted with the military-grade poison. Astonishingly, the footage shows Rowley “bin dipping” in the area a mere 33 minutes after the Russian suspects, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were seen walking toward the city centre, having allegedly applied Novichok to Skripal’s door handle.
I believe it is most likely that Charlie Rowley found the perfume bottle containing the Novichok on Sunday 4 March 2018, it having been placed in a bin somewhere in Salisbury by Petrov and Boshirov.
Commander Dominic Murphy, Counter-Terrorism Police
This chilling conclusion suggests that a lethal chemical weapon may have been left in a public place for hours, perhaps even days, before Rowley unwittingly recovered it. Tragically, he gifted the tainted perfume bottle to his partner, Dawn Sturgess, who died after exposing herself to the contents more than three months later.
A Perplexing Puzzle
Rowley’s potential discovery of the poison on March 4 raises perplexing questions about how the perfume bottle made its way from Salisbury to Amesbury, where Sturgess ultimately came into contact with it. Investigators believe Rowley carried it with him when he relocated in May, underscoring the disturbing possibility that a “hot” Novichok container was unwittingly transported and handled over an extended period.
While police have not definitively ruled out alternative scenarios, including the existence of a second container or the assassins “caching” the bottle for later retrieval, the inquiry’s focus on Rowley’s actions that March afternoon suggest authorities consider his encounter a crucial missing link in the case.
A Trail of Tragedy
The heartbreaking outcome of this chance discovery underscores the indiscriminate lethality of Novichok, a nerve agent notorious for its potency and persistence. Developed in secret by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the poison has been implicated in multiple attacks on British soil in recent years:
- March 2018: Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for UK intelligence services, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury. Both survived.
- June 2018: Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were exposed to Novichok in Amesbury after handling a contaminated perfume bottle. Sturgess died as a result.
- August 2020: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok-type nerve agent. He was medically evacuated to Germany and later recovered.
These troubling incidents have strained already tense relations between Britain and Russia, with the UK government openly accusing the Kremlin of culpability in the attacks. Moscow has consistently denied any involvement, casting the allegations as politically motivated smears.
An Ongoing Investigation
As the Wiltshire poisonings inquiry continues to unfold, the haunting image of an unwitting “bin surfer” plucking a deadly weapon from the rubbish serves as a stark reminder of the human toll wrought by this sinister saga. With key questions still unanswered, the investigation into the Novichok attacks remains a complex and deeply consequential undertaking – one that may forever alter the landscape of international diplomacy and security.
