US Edition3 Chinese citizens arrested in Georgia for attempting to buy uranium
Three Chinese nationals in Tbilisi were caught trying to buy 2 kilograms of uranium for $400,000, with plans to transport it to China via Russia, authorities said.
- The State Security Service of Georgia arrested three Chinese citizens in Tbilisi for allegedly trying to buy two kilograms of uranium, Interpress cited the deputy head saying they planned to pay $400,000 and send it to China via Russia.
- Members of the suspected network, including a Chinese citizen in Georgia, breached visa rules to bring experts searching for uranium amid Georgia's history of illicit nuclear-material incidents.
- Security officials said the suspects were detained while negotiating the details of the illegal transaction at the Tbilisi detention site, and released video footage of the detention operation, describing the seized uranium as nuclear material.
- Prosecutors may pursue charges against the detainees that carry up to 10 years in prison, while Georgia courts also handled July arrests of one Georgian and one Turkish national on related radioactive-substance charges.
- Other members of the criminal group in China coordinated the plot, while concerns over Soviet-era leftover nuclear materials in Georgia highlight ongoing trafficking risks.
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60 Articles
It is not clear what uranium isotope the men were looking for, nor the purpose for which they wanted it - All three defendants plead not guilty, but were taken into custody
According to the Georgian authorities, the members of the criminal group planned to pay $400,000 for these radioactive elements on the black market and were held in pre-trial detention pending trial.
Georgia's internal security service announced that it had arrested three Chinese citizens in the capital Tbilisi for attempting to illegally purchase two kilograms of uranium "nuclear material," 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. The uranium was "nuclear mat…
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