No more Perfume on Airplanes? Al Qaeda Uses Poison Perfume Against Enemies

Ever had to wear a suit in St. Louis, Missouri in the middle of summer on a business trip? It can be miserable, and when you are on a tight flight schedule, you want to make sure you don't offend after catching your flight. That might be harder for business travelers now it has been exposed Al Qaeda is using perfume and cologne as a weapon. In fact, I would expect small bottles of perfume to be added to the list of contraband at the airports if it isn't already. The no duty stores might as well close.

According to reports out of Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda terrorist operatives plotted to kill various government and media officials by sending them gifts of poisoned perfumes.

Al Jazeera reports that Saudi Arabia has detained nearly 150 al-Qaeda-linked suspects in recent months, many accused of financing and recruiting terrorist efforts inside the kingdom.

The group “planned to rob banks and companies to finance their operations”, the official, who declined to be named, said on Saturday.

“Using poisoned perfume … is one of the ways the arrested people planned to carry out their assassinations,” he said.

The new plans for poison perfume represent an effort among terrorist extremists to shift terror operations from traditional explosives to chemical warfare and come after security officials foiled plans to detonate explosives on cargo jetliners.