Anthrax Scare: Suspicious Powder Sent To French, Austrian, Uzbekistan Consulates

NEW YORK — Envelopes containing suspicious powder were sent to three foreign consulates in Manhattan on Monday, but initial tests suggested the mailings were a hoax, police officials said.

A field test done on the powder sent the Uzbekistan Consulate came back negative for Anthrax or any other dangerous substance, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Brown said.

Envelopes containing a powder were also sent to the French and Austrian consulates.

All three envelopes had Dallas, Texas, postmarks, and at least one contained a note referencing al-Qaida, Brown said.

The potential threat prompted an emergency response from federal and local authorities, including hazardous material units that decontaminated employees of the consulates who handled the envelopes.

"The FBI is working with the NYPD to determine the origin of these letters," said Richard Kolko, spokesman for the FBI's New York Office. "Our field office will follow all leads to locate the sender."

Telephone calls to the consulates went unanswered or were not immediately returned.

Comments

[RayCutter]

Anthrax is bad stuff. What if it had not been a hoax. Would we have been prepared? 40 years ago this month, Nixon ended America's chemical weapons program and focused on preparedness for a biological attack. Fast forward to today. You've got a bipartisan commission saying "the clock is ticking" and we're not prepared. We're using technology that is 30 years old and are waiting for a little known gov. agency, BARDA, to award a second generation contract that they've been sitting on for months. I feel safe

[EliminateVariables]

Just another ploy to justify mass vaccination of Anthrax loaded with Squalene. I dont buy it. It was a hoax in early 2000 and still is.

[rucognizant]

from Dallas......? guess the hardware store thingie didn't work out?

[mergina]

Anthrax scare? Cheney is not in office.

[belly dancer]

What!?...I'm seriously surprised one was not sent to the Consulate of the 9 square mile island nation of Tuvalu.

[000Jade000]

I can understand why someone would send scare letters to Uzbekistan, but I do not get France or Austria.