LONDON: British police said on Saturday that search teams have found over 400 items as part of the investigation into the poisoning of two Britons by the nerve agent Novichok but searches will likely take many more weeks as officers seek further evidence.

Metropolitan Police announced a breakthrough in the case on Friday when they said they had found a small bottle believed to be the source of the nerve agent that killed Dawn Sturgess and sickened Charlie Rowley.

The bottle was found at Rowley’s home in Amesbury, a southwestern town not far from Salisbury, where British authorities say Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok in March.

Britain blames the Russian government for the March attack, an accusation the Kremlin has denied. The case prompted Western nations including the United States and Britain to expel scores of Russian diplomats and for Russia to retaliate with similar expulsions.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2018