The alleged smugglers, two of whom were identified by Moldovan officials as former policemen, were arrested on Wednesday in a police sting operation. Moldovan police found 1.8 kilograms of uranium-238 in a garage Chisinau, the country's capital.
The Moldovan police said the men were seeking about $11 million for the uranium.
'We congratulate the Moldovan Ministry of Interior for its work in thwarting what was a serious smuggling attempt,' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a briefing on Wednesday.
He added that 'an FBI team had cooperated with Moldovan police on technical analysis.'
'The U.S. government continues to work with partners worldwide to thwart nuclear smuggling cases, providing assistance with investigations, provisions of radiation detection equipment, training, and legal assistance to increase sentencing for these crimes,' he said. 'We did in this case offer law enforcement and technical assistance to the Moldovan Ministry of Interior.'
It was not clear who the men had hoped to sell the uranium to. The amount of radioactive matter involved is well short of that required to build a nuclear bomb, or even a so-called dirty bomb." (source)
