Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
Aug 25, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Police have seized 4 pounds of uranium-238 from a criminal gang in Moldova. Three of the suspects have been arrested and the police are still searching for 7 others who are involved in the crime. The suspects were reportedly due to sell the radioactive material for as much as $11 million. The news came as shock to many as uranium is used to make atomic bombs and among the three arrested, two were Interior Ministry officials.

The radioactive material was found by the police in a garage in Chisinau, the capital and authorities are still trying to figure out the origin of the material and their intended destination. The police have, however, suspected that the gang was planning to sell off the material very soon. The three who have been arrested were tracked by the police for over a month before the arrest. The head of Fraud Investigation of Moldovan Interior Ministry, Oleg Putuntica said that the suspects were planning to sell the uranium to a country with ‘high risk people’.

One nuclear expert said that the amount of uranium that has been reported is ‘trivial’ and of no use in making nuclear weapons. He added, however, that any efforts to smuggle a radioactive substance like uranium is of concern. Uranium-238 is the most commonly found form of uranium in nature. The rarely found uranium-235 is used for making nuclear bombs. The police said that the amount found in the garage in Moldova does not pose any threat to the environment or the people around it, but it could be made extremely dangerous if enriched with isotopes.