Another set of black-market dealers of nuclear material have been arrested in Kyrgyzstan -- this time dealing in plutonium:

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan say they have arrested two men who were trying to sell a large quantity of plutonium on the black market. The men were detained last week near the capital, Bishkek, but the news was not immediately released. ...

The national security service in the remote mountainous republic says it arrested two Kyrgyz citizens and confiscated 60 small containers containing plutonium-239. There is no information on exactly what quantity of plutonium was in the containers. Kyrgyz security agents tracked the men who were attempting to sell the plutonium and arrested them while posing as buyers.

The origin of the material is unknown.

Security officials say it is not used in Kyrgyzstan, so they think it may have come from one of the neighbouring republics or from Russia.
Earlier this year, another man was arrested in Kyrgyzstan attempting to sell a quantity of caesium-137, another highly radioactive substance.

These boys weren't pikers; 60 containers of plutonium isn't just a sample, it sounds like an armory. The Russians left a lot of this stuff behind when they pulled out of their former territories. One has to wonder how much more of it has been successfully traded before now.

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» Plutonium Sale Busted from
I'm surprised I missed this, but Kyrgyz police busted an attempted plutonium sale (Via Captain's Quarters and Winds of Change). Joe notes that there is some reason to be cautious about such reports. That's gotta make you happy that the uranium a... [Read More]

Tracked on September 28, 2004 12:48 PM