|
Georgian officials say they intercepted sale of bomb-grade uranium
Georgian special services have foiled an attempt by a Russian citizen to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1 million to agents he thought were radical Islamists, a senior Interior Ministry official said on yesterday. The official said Oleg Khintsagov, of Russia's North Ossetia region, was arrested on Feb. 1, 2006 and a closed court convicted him soon after to 8 1/2 years in prison.Khintsagov was detained as he tried to sell uranium-235 to an undercover Georgian agent posing as a radical Islamist group member , said Shota Utiashvili, who heads the ministry's information and analytical department. "He was demanding $1 million for 100 grams [3.5 ounces] of enriched weapons-grade uranium," Utiashvili said. "This sort of uranium could be used to make a nuclear bomb but 100 grams is not enough." Before being arrested, Khintsagov told agents he had another two to three kilograms of highly enriched uranium in the North Ossetian capital Vladikavkaz, Utiashvili said. Khintsagov transported the uranium, which was enriched to 90 percent, in plastic bags in his pockets. He refused to cooperate with the investigation. The uranium's origin was unclear. The safety of Russia's vast stocks of nuclear weapons from smugglers has concerned world leaders since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia said its nuclear facilities are well-guarded. A spokesman for Russia's atomic energy agency had no immediate comment . There have been 16 confirmed instances of stolen or missing highly enriched uranium or plutonium recovered by authorities since 1993, according to a database of the UN nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it expected Georgia to notify it of the new case shortly. "Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an improvised nuclear explosive device, even small numbers of incidents involving [highly enriched uranium] or plutonium are of very high concern," said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. "Trafficking incidents involving nuclear material point to possible weaknesses and may be indicative of the illicit availability of larger undetected quantities." The incident is likely to help Georgia's case as it argues in the World Trade Organization that Russia is not controlling its borders with Georgia. Officials said Khintsagov had discussed selling weapons-grade uranium with three acquaintances, after which security service agents infiltrated the group. He brought one gram of the uranium to Georgia as a sample and the agents agreed to buy more. He then brought another 100 grams to Tbilisi, at which point he was arrested. Georgian officials sent samples of the uranium to the United States and Russia for examination. The FBI and Russian officials confirmed the uranium was weapons grade, but said they could not identify its origin. "They [the Russians] said that they could not say where it came from, which surprised us somewhat," Utiashvili said. A source in Russia's atomic energy agency told Interfax news agency that Russia was given a tiny amount to analyze. Posted by: ryuge 2007-01-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=178808 |