Novichok perfume bottle was found dumped in CHARITY collection bin by tragic Amesbury poisoning victims
A PERFUME bottle containing deadly Novichok was found dumped in a charity bin before a woman died and a man was left fighting for his life, cops have revealed today.
It was picked up by poisoning victim Charlie Rowley in Amesbury and taken home - but could have easily ended up on the shelf of a charity shop.
It is not known how it came to be behind a row of shops in Catherine Street, but the innocuous bottle containing fatal nerve agent was just one step away from being put on sale to the general public.
Had Mr Rowley not stumbled upon the perfume box, it is likely the deadly liquid could have been used to raise funds for one of the many charity shops on that road.
Mr Rowley told police he found a box on June 27, which contained the imitation designer perfume bottle, and gave it to his partner, Dawn Sturgess.
She was rushed to hospital hours after spraying the fake fragrance onto her wrists on June 30, and died, before Charlie was also taken to hospital.
The same deadly nerve agent was also responsible for leaving a former Russian spy and his daughter fighting for their lives after being attacked with the dangerous substance in March.
Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov have now been linked to the attempted hit on the former MI6 mole Sergei and Yulia Skripal - and cops have issued a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.
It is not known where the pair disposed of the Novichok used in the attack or how the agent was carried to the Skripals' home, but it was announced in July a bottle of the same substance was found inside the home Mr Rowley - under the guise of a bottle of Nina Ricci perfume.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We have spoken to Nina Ricci and undertaken further inquiries.
"Nina Ricci and our inquiries have confirmed that it is not a genuine Nina Ricci perfume bottle, box or nozzle. It is in fact a counterfeit box, bottle and nozzle that have been especially adapted.
"I’d like to reassure anyone who has bought Nina Ricci perfume from a legitimate source that they should not be concerned. It is safe.
"We cannot account for the whereabouts of the bottle, nozzle or box between the attack on the Skripals on March 4 and when Charlie Rowley said he found it on Wednesday, June 27."
Today it was revealed Petrov and Boshirov - suspected to be travelling under aliases - arrived in the country at Gatwick Airport before getting a train from London to Salisbury to carry out the attack on the former spy.
Incredible CCTV footage shows the Russian pair named today - who are believed to be in their 40s - smiling as they stroll through the city on the day of the Skripal attack.
It is understood Petrov and Boshirov stayed in the City Stay Hotel, Bow, East London during their time in the UK.
Cops searching their room on May 4 - almost two months after the attack in Salisbury - are said to have discovered minute traces of Novichok.
Police said Novichok was brought into Britain in a Nina Ricci ‘Premier Jour’ perfume bottle with a specially made poison applicator.
Speaking after Prime Minister's Questions today, Theresa May told the Commons the suspects were members of the Russian Military Intelligence Service and were not carrying out a "rogue operation".
Mrs May said: “Based on a body of intelligence, the Government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU.”
Did you see this pink box or glass bottle between March 4 and June 27? Do you have any information about where it might have been discarded? If so, please contact the investigation team on 0800 789 321 or Salisbury2018@met.police.uk.
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