POISON TRAIL?
Russian spy poisoning – cops rush women to hospital from office next door to Zizzi where ‘Sergei Skripal was poisoned’
TWO women have been escorted into an ambulance from offices next door to Zizzi where a Russian spy dined before he was poisoned.
Footage shows the pair being taken away by emergency services in Salisbury, Wilts, this afternoon.
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What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Police say they were deliberately targeted with a rare nerve agent
- The first Wiltshire Police officer on the scene is now seriously ill in hospital
- A blonde woman with a red handbag is being hunted after being caught on CCTV minutes before the hit
- Spooks believe the Russians may have had their drinks spiked in a pub or a Zizzi's restaurant
- The recent deaths Mr Skripal’s wife and son are now being probed
- It was claimed Yulia Skripal may have been poisoned after calling for Putin to be jailed on Facebook
- Boris Johnson urged royals to boycott the Russian World Cup in retaliation
It comes after former double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found slumped unconscious on a shopping centre bench on Sunday.
The Russian pair are fighting for life following a suspected poisoning plot.
Fire crews, paramedics and cops raced to Sarum House at 1.30pm today.
Many of the 100 workers inside were not allowed to leave and those who had gone out on a lunch-break were prevented from re-entering the offices.
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Shortly after the building was flooded with emergency services and two women were escorted to waiting ambulances and driven away.
Meanwhile, CCTV has emerged of Sergei smiling and laughing at a corner shop just days before he was poisoned.
Footage obtained by shows the ex-Russian spy buying milk, sausages and scratchcards from a store 10 minutes walk from his home on February 27.
New CCTV of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal buying groceries and scratchcards days before he was 'victim of poison attack' in Salisbury
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Shopkeeper Ebru Ozturk told the : "He would come into the shop a couple of times a week and he always bought his scratchcards.
“He loved to buy them, I think he loved to gamble."
Counter-terror cops are trying to work out who was behind the suspected poisoning and the type of toxic chemical they were given.
Officers are investigating whether a potent toxin was slipped into their drinks at The Mill pub in Salisbury after dining at Zizzi's.
Another theory is that an attacker could have sprayed the pair from the street.
Preliminary toxicology tests by military scientists at secret research centre Porton Down ruled out nuclear material or a nerve agent.
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What you need to know about Russian spy Sergei Skripal, the Salisbury 'poison attack', Alexander Litvinenko and Anna Chapman
The suspicion is focusing on a hybrid version of the heavy metal poison Thallium.
Known as the “poisoner’s poison”, Thallium is colourless, odourless and tasteless.
It is easy to deliver, slipped into food or drink in liquid form, or spilt on skin.
Cops are now investigating the deaths of Sergei's wife and son.
While Lyudmila's death certificate reads that she died of cancer, neighbours claim she was killed in a car crash.
Son Alexandr is said to have also perished in a St Petersburg car smash - yet close family members say he passed away after a battle with liver problems.
It comes after Yulia dared to openly criticise Vladimir Putin on Facebook, suggesting that jailing the president would be a "great idea".
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She exchanged anti-Putin chat with a pal on social media, it has emerged.
Yulia wrote “nice” on a note posted by a friend.
The note read: “I want to put into jail Vladimir Putin because I think that he is the worst president in the world.
“He’s stolen so much money that they can feed a small starving country."
It ends: "I think that with his passing our country will live much better."
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