Tbilisi (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Georgia’s internal security service announced on Saturday that it had detained three Chinese nationals in Tbilisi for trying to illegally acquire two kilograms of uranium, a nuclear material, Georgia’s Interpress news agency reported.
In recent years, Georgia has experienced several serious incidents related to the illegal trade of nuclear materials for decades.
What did Georgian authorities say regarding arrests?
As reported, the deputy head of Georgia’s State Security Service stated that the three detainees planned to purchase uranium for $400,000 and smuggle it to China through Russia. The uranium was “nuclear material”, it stated without exaggerating on the motive for the planned purchase.
“During a joint operation carried out by the staff of the State Security Service’s counter-intelligence and special operations departments, three citizens of China were detained for an attempt to buy 2 kg of the nuclear material of uranium. The members of the criminal gang planned to buy uranium illegally in Tbilisi for $400,000 and transport it to China through the Russian Federation,”
the Georgian security official said.
Georgia has also initiated a criminal investigation under the article
“Illegal Handling of Nuclear Materials or Devices, Radioactive Waste or Substances”
of the country’s Criminal Code, which sanctions a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
What past uranium-related arrests occurred in Georgia?
In July, Georgia also arrested one Georgian and one Turkish national, charged with the illegal purchase, possession, and disposal of radioactive substances, which the national security service said could have been used to make a deadly bomb, Reuters reported.
“…the citizen of Georgia illegally purchased and stored the radioactive substance uranium…(and) tried to sell the mentioned nuclear material to the Turkish citizen for $3 million,”
the prosecutor’s statement said at that time.
The State Security Service announced it thwarted a “transnational crime” involving uranium, which could have been used to create a deadly bomb, resulting in mass casualties.
In 2019, Georgia reported detaining two individuals involved in handling and attempting to sell $2.8 million worth of uranium-238. In 2016, authorities detained twelve individuals, including Georgians and Armenians, in two separate sting operations during the same month. They accused them of attempting to sell approximately $203 million worth of uranium-238 and uranium-235.
In 2014, Georgia also apprehended two US citizens attempting to smuggle cesium-137, a radioactive isotope of cesium, into the country.
