ABSTRACT
The Secret Service of Bulgaria is said to have used Rizin in 1978 in London to kill Oleg Markov, a writer living in exile. The toxin was injected into the leg of Mr. Markov via a needle hidden in an umbrella. The method was discovered by autopsy, when a small pearl of platinum-iridium containing the toxin was found. A similar attempt against Vladimir Kostov, an exiled politician, failed because the wax that closed the opening of the pearl did not dissolve. Such foreign bodies may be localized by ultrasound, less likely by plain film radiography.
