A BOLTON-born Breaking Bad fan made a "carefully crafted, well-planned and thoroughly researched" attempt to get his hands on ricin and then lied to police in a vain attempt to "get away with it", a court heard.

Father-of-two Mohammed Ali, aged 31, is on trial at the Old Bailey in London accused of trying to get hold of the deadly poison, which features in the hit US television series.

The court heard how the computer software programmer went by the user name of Weirdos 0000 and struck a deal with an undercover FBI agent to buy 500mg of ricin - enough to kill 1,400 people.

He was arrested at his Liverpool home in February after he received delivery of a toy car with five vials concealed in the battery compartment - unaware that they contained harmless powder.

Police found he had searched the internet for chinchillas, rabbits and "pocket sized pets" after making a note for himself to test out the ricin by getting a "pet to murder".

In her closing speech, prosecutor Sally Howes QC rejected Ali's defence that he was just a "computer geek" who wanted to test the boundaries of the Dark Web.

She branded him a "chancer" for lying to police and then refusing to answer questions in an attempt to "get away with it".

She told jurors how, in a safety interview at his home in Prescot Road, an officer had asked Ali if he had any ricin and he replied: "None that I know of."

Ms Howes went on: "He tells them yes, there is some activity on the internet because he knows they are going to find it, but what they might not find is the substance which is tucked away in his study inside a box inside a toy car inside a battery compartment.

"There is a chance. If you are a chancer - and he clearly is - there's a chance he will get away with it. It was worth a try, wasn't it?

"That's why you look very carefully at that question and answer and in particular at that lie and ask yourself: why would he lie? And there's only one reason and that's to cover up his criminal activity with ricin."

The prosecutor questioned why Ali did not explain at the time he was a "computer geek" who did it for a "dare" and to push boundaries.

"'I'm not a terrorist, I'm a geek and what's more I'm a fool. This is what I did and this is why I'm doing it. Stop calling me a terrorist, I'm a geek' - he did not say that and he could have. He chooses not to. The reason being he had not thought it through at that stage," she said.

"The explanation he has given to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is simply not true and you have the evidence to completely undermine that.

"Like everything that Mr Ali does, this was a carefully crafted, well-planned and thoroughly researched attempt to get his hands on ricin, a deadly toxin."

But Joel Bennathan QC, defending, told the jury that the case was a "no-brainer" because the Chemical Weapons Act allows for possession of it, if it is for a "peaceful purpose".

He said: "You have the prosecution saying only people who can be trusted can have ricin.

"We can say, 'go on, let him off. He's learnt his lesson, he's been locked up for months. He's got Asperger's. Let him get on with his life. It was the FBI, it wasn't ricin.

"That's the law of panto and the law of the mob. If you look at what the law actually is and apply it to the evidence in this case, unexpectedly, this case is a no-brainer for an aquittal if you look at the phrase 'peaceful purpose'.

"Mr Ali told you he got fascinated by the Dark Web. He starts to explore it. He starts to talk to the FBI man. He wants to test whether it is real so the arrival of the toy car, that's the culmination.

"Maybe it's a stupid purpose or a reckless purpose but the question you have to ask - is it a peaceful purpose?

"He said the other purpose was to test it, but he abandons the idea and decides to flush it down the loo - you could not get a much more peaceful purpose.

"Maybe not a good idea, maybe not responsible, maybe not wise. If what he has said to you is or might be true, he is not guilty of this offence."

Ali, who was born in Bolton and has lived all his life in the North West of England, denies attempting to possess a chemical weapon between January 10 and February 12.

The court previously heard the idea was "implanted in his brain" from watching the TV series Breaking Bad and the pursuit of his interest was entirely for itself and "not for money or glory or power".

Trial judge Mr Justice Saunders sent the jury out to begin deliberating its verdict just after 2pm yesterday.