Sounds like Russia IS selling the weapons to Middle East, most likely Iran....
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian special services have foiled an attempt by a Russian citizen to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1 million (508,000 pounds) to agents he thought were radical Islamists, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.
The official said Oleg Khintsagov, a resident of Russia's North Ossetia region, was arrested on February 1 2006 and a closed court soon after convicted him 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 member of a radical Islamist group, 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 2-3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) 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 provenance was unclear. The safety of Russia's vast stocks of nuclear weapons from smugglers has concerned world leaders since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.
Russia says its nuclear facilities are well guarded. A spokesman for Russia's atomic energy agency had no immediate comment on the Georgian case.
There have been 16 previous confirmed instances of stolen or missing HEU or plutonium recovered by authorities since 1993, according to a database of the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 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 HEU 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 Organisation that Russia is not adequately controlling its borders with Georgia.
STING OPERATION
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 U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (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 Russia was given only a tiny amount to analyse.
In sufficient amounts, uranium-235, which has a half-life of more than 700 million years, can be used to make a nuclear bomb.
Utiashvili said a similar case had occurred in Georgia in 2003, also with bomb-grade uranium, but the investigation was still continuing and he declined to comment further.
Georgia has long complained that smugglers spirit weapons, alcohol and drugs through its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are supported by Russia.
"There is a danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Georgia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
This "indicates that ensuring the security of these sections of the border with the participation of the international community has a big importance", the ministry said.
(Additional reporting by Mark Heinrich in Vienna)
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art...=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage3
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian special services have foiled an attempt by a Russian citizen to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1 million (508,000 pounds) to agents he thought were radical Islamists, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.
The official said Oleg Khintsagov, a resident of Russia's North Ossetia region, was arrested on February 1 2006 and a closed court soon after convicted him 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 member of a radical Islamist group, 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 2-3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) 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 provenance was unclear. The safety of Russia's vast stocks of nuclear weapons from smugglers has concerned world leaders since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.
Russia says its nuclear facilities are well guarded. A spokesman for Russia's atomic energy agency had no immediate comment on the Georgian case.
There have been 16 previous confirmed instances of stolen or missing HEU or plutonium recovered by authorities since 1993, according to a database of the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 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 HEU 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 Organisation that Russia is not adequately controlling its borders with Georgia.
STING OPERATION
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 U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (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 Russia was given only a tiny amount to analyse.
In sufficient amounts, uranium-235, which has a half-life of more than 700 million years, can be used to make a nuclear bomb.
Utiashvili said a similar case had occurred in Georgia in 2003, also with bomb-grade uranium, but the investigation was still continuing and he declined to comment further.
Georgia has long complained that smugglers spirit weapons, alcohol and drugs through its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are supported by Russia.
"There is a danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Georgia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
This "indicates that ensuring the security of these sections of the border with the participation of the international community has a big importance", the ministry said.
(Additional reporting by Mark Heinrich in Vienna)
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art...=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage3
