Six arrested for selling uranium in Georgia
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Three Georgian and three Armenian citizens have been arrested for illegally selling nuclear material hazardous to human health in Tbilisi.
An official from Georgia’s State Security Service said at a special press briefing today that the six people were detained for allegedly selling uranium.
"As a result of joint operative-searching and investigative activities of the Counter-Intelligence and Special Operations Departments of the State Security Service of Georgia, members of a criminal group were detained for illegal handling of nuclear material,” said the spokesperson.
He added the alleged offenders planned to sell an amount of uranium (U238) for $200 million USD when they were detained.
Law enforcers searched the house of one of the accused and discovered a prefabricated container meant to transport the U238.
"Given the gamma ray emission, the identity of the source and radiological expertise report, the seized substance is dangerous for life and health,” said Georgia’s State Security Service.
Tbilisi City Court sentenced all six alleged offenders to preventative detention ahead of their trials.
If proven guilty, the offenders will be sent to prison for between five to 10 years.
Authorities in Georgia have arrested five people for attempting to sell millions of dollars’ worth of uranium, a nuclear material that’s extremely hazardous to human health and life.
The efforts of Georgian authorities to detect and seize radioactive materials in several cases over the past year has generated high praise from the country’s American and European partners.
Georgian customs officers have made a remarkable discovery of 18kg of undeclared gold bars, worth an estimated 1.32 million GEL.
Investigators of Georgia’s Ministry of Finance detained a citizen of Azerbaijan today who was trying to smuggle out 2,5kg gold from Georgia.
The Georgian State Security Service has detained two individuals in the Kobuleti region of western Georgia on Tuesday for the illegal possession and sale of radioactive materials.