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Secret trial reveals illicit trade in nuclear materials

The trial, which is being held in camera, has underlined how little about the illicit trade in nuclear smuggling is known.

Armenian smugglers tried to sell nuclear material to terrorists The former Soviet republic of Armenia has emerged as a potential flashpoint for nuclear smuggling after it was revealed that two Armenian nationals tried to sell highly enriched uranium to people they thought were terrorists in March.  Telegraph By Andrew Osborn in Moscow  07 Nov 2010

The revelation, which emerged from a secret trial being held in neighbouring Georgia, suggested that nuclear smugglers are still very active along the borders of the former Soviet Union.

Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, announced in April that his country, a staunch US ally, had uncovered and foiled a plot to sell highly enriched uranium (HEU) to an Islamist extremist group. But the details of the operation were not known until Sunday…..

The trial, which is being held in camera, has underlined how little about the illicit trade in nuclear smuggling is known.

It is unclear how much stolen nuclear material is already in circulation and how much may have already been purchased by extremist groups.

The HEU intercepted was 89.4 per cent enriched and therefore usable in a nuclear warhead.

There is some evidence that the consignment, together with two others before it, was sourced from a nuclear fuel plant in Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia.

Armenian smugglers tried to sell nuclear material to terrorists – Telegraph

November 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium