Bomb-grade uranium seized in joint sting
Republic of Georgia authorities, helped by the CIA, set up a sting operation that led to the arrest of Russian who tried to sell nuclear-bomb grade uranium in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket, a government minister revealed today.
Last summer’s operation, which neither government has publicised, is one of the most serious cases of smuggling of nuclear material in recent years, according to analysts and officials.
The arrest underscored concerns about the possibility of terrorists acquiring nuclear bomb-making material on the black market, although there was no suggestion that this particular case was terrorist-related.
“Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an improvised nuclear explosive device, even small numbers of incidents involving HEU (highly enriched uranium) or plutonium are of very high concern,” said Melissa Fleming of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.
Details of the investigation, which also involved the FBI and Energy Department, were provided to The Associated Press news agency by US officials and Georgian interior minister Vano Merabishvili.
Authorities said they did not know how the man acquired the nuclear material or if his claims of access to much larger quantities were true. He and three Georgian accomplices are in Georgian custody and not co-operating with investigators.
And Georgian attempts to trace the nuclear material since the arrest and confirm whether the man indeed had access to larger quantities have foundered from a lack of co-operation from Russia.
Merabishvili said he was revealing the story out of frustration with Russia’s response and the need to illustrate the dangers of a breakdown in security co-operation in the region.
A message left with the press office of the Russian Embassy was not returned. A duty officer at the Russian Foreign Ministry said there was no one authorised to comment.
Russia has tense relations with Georgia, a former Soviet republic. Georgia has been troubled by Russia’s support for separatists in two breakaway Georgian border regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The sting was set up after Georgian authorities uncovered extensive smuggling networks while investigating criminal groups operating in the breakaway republics, Merabishvili said.
“When we sent buyers, the channels through Abkhazia and South Ossetia began to expand, and we started seeing a huge flow of materials,” he said. “Sometimes it was low-grade enriched materials, but this was the first instance of highly enriched material.”
According to his account, during an investigation in South Ossetia, a Georgian undercover agent posing as a rich foreign buyer made contact with the Russian seller in North Ossetia, which is part of Russia.
After the Russian offered to sell the sample, the agent rebuffed requests that the transaction occur in North Ossetia, insisting the Russian come to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.
At a meeting in Tbilisi, the man pulled out from his pocket a plastic bag containing the material. Uranium has a low level of radioactive emission and can be transported more safely than other radioactive materials.
The man was arrested and sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison on smuggling charges. His accomplices were sentenced on lesser charges.
Russian authorities took a sample of the material but failed to offer any assistance despite requests for help from the Georgians, Merabishvili said.
“We were ready to provide all the information, but unfortunately no one arrived from Russia, not even to interview this person,” Merabishvili said.
“It is surprising because it is in Russian interests to secure these materials. There are terrorist organisations in Russia who would pay huge amounts of money for this.”
The Georgians asked for US assistance and agents from the FBI and the Energy Department took the material back to the US, where it was tested by the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
“The material was analysed by agency nuclear experts and confirmed to be highly enriched uranium,” said Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the agency.
The CIA would not comment on the case, and the FBI confirmed only its involvement in the investigation.
None of the US officials would confirm the weight of the seizure or its quality, but Merabishvili said it was about 100 grams (3.5ozs of uranium enriched by more than 90%. Uranium enriched at 90% is weapons grade.
A nuclear bomb of a design similar to the one exploded over Hiroshima in 1945 would require about 50kgs (110lbs) of uranium enriched at over 90%, according to Matthew Bunn, a senior research associate who focuses on nuclear theft and terrorism at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Bunn said that a more sophisticated implosion type nuclear bomb would require 15 to 18kgs (33 to 40lbs).
