British man unwittingly gave Russian nerve agent to his girlfriend as a gift

Enlarge / SALISBURY, ENGLAND – JULY 06: Work is carried out behind a police cordon in front of John Baker House Sanctuary Supported Living after a major incident was declared when a man and woman were exposed to the Novichok nerve agent. (credit: Getty | Jack Taylor)

British officials announced Wednesday they are investigating whether attackers dropped multiple, hidden stashes of the deadly Russian Novichok nerve agent around an English town as part of a plot to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

The Skripals were found March 4, slumped on a bench in Sergei’s home town of Salisbury, England. The two had been poisoned by the military-grade chemical weapon, but later regained consciousness and are recovering in an undisclosed location. Britain and its NATO allies united to blame Russia for the attack.

The new revelation that there could be more Novichok in the otherwise quiet town comes as a man poisoned by the same agent several weeks ago near Salisbury told the press that he came across the nerve agent in a branded, cellophane-wrapped box containing a bottle he thought was full of perfume. The victim in that case, Charlie Rowley, 45, didn’t reveal—or remember—exactly where he had found the box. He said that on June 30 he gave it as a gift to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who recognized the branding on the box.