Cult raid uncovers secret chemical lab

TOKYO — In the cult‘s most holy building, a secret door behind a huge Hindu statue leads to a hidden chemical lab. From there, an underground passage connects to a storeroom filled with all the chemicals needed to make nerve gas.

The discoveries yesterday are among the many chilling details police have revealed in raids against the secretive Aum Shinri Kyo sect, or Supreme Truth, the chief suspect in last week’s nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways.

Ten people were killed and 5,000 sickened in the March 20 attack. Hundreds of people remain hospitalized.

Inside or near several of the sect’s drab concrete buildings near the foot of Mount Fuji, police found rooms or underground containers that they believe were used to confine people who tried to flee.

Police documents obtained by Japanese media say the group, which claims 10,000 followers in Japan, is directed by a network of about 20 ”ministries.”

A report today in the Yomiuri newspaper said police were ready to question a man hospitalized for nerve gas poisoning last week. Police believe the man fits the description given by several witnesses of a person seen planting a newspaper-wrapped container of the deadly gas on their train, the report said.

Police refused to comment.

Nearly a week of intense searches have turned up tons of chemicals, millions of dollars worth of yen and piles of gold bars.

Read Another Article

Japan probes cult for link to gas
2 charged with carrying chemicals in Japan in crackdown on cult

Related News Articles Topic(s): Aum Shinrikyo Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Aum Shinrikyo Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog