FBI Arrest Man For Possession of Puff Fish Toxin

The FBI raided and Illinois man's home on Monday and arrested and charged the man with possession of tetrodotoxin which is a deadly toxin found in puffer fish.

What led to the arrest of the 35 year-old Edward F. Bachner was his attempt to purchase 98 milligrams of the tetrodotoxin, online from a New Jersey chemical company, using an alias of Edmond Backer, claiming he was a doctor working for Illinois-based EB Strategic Research. EB Strategic Research does not exist. An employee from the company became concerned at the quantity that Bachner was trying to obtain and alerted the FBI. A member of the FBI joint-terrorism task force delivered the toxin to Bachner's home on the 5700 block of McKenzie Drive in 'Lake in the Hills', and after accepting his purchase, he was arrested.

Edward F. Bachner, 35, of Lake in the Hills, was charged with one count of illegal possession of a toxin, according to a federal complaint filed in U.S. district court. Bachner is listed as the corporate secretary of Rosetta Wireless Corporation in Naperville, in suburban Chicago.

Tetrodotoxin is a neurotoxin that in large doses can cause paralysis and death and according to reports it is 1,200 times more deadly than cyanide. No reports as to what Bachner was planning on doing with the toxin and he appeared before a judge in federal court in Rockford and is being held without bond until his next court appearance.