Reuters
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Georgia’s internal security authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested three Chinese nationals in the capital Tbilisi for trying to illegally purchase two kilograms of “nuclear material” uranium, Georgia’s Interpress news agency reported.
Interpress quoted the deputy head of Georgia’s State Security Service as saying that the three detainees had planned to buy uranium for $400,000 and transport it to China via Russia. He said uranium is a “nuclear material” but did not elaborate on the motivation for the planned purchase.
The newspaper quoted security officials as saying the detainees could face up to 10 years in prison.
The security of nuclear materials left over from the Soviet era was one of the biggest concerns after the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which Georgia was a member, in 1991. Over the past few decades, Georgia has been the site of several significant incidents involving the illegal trafficking of nuclear materials.
In July, Georgia arrested a Georgian and a Turkish national on charges of illegally purchasing, possessing and disposing of radioactive material, and the National Security Agency said the radioactive material could have been used to make deadly bombs.
