Sale of radioactive materials needed to make 'dirty bomb' prevented in Ukraine

Sale of radioactive materials needed to make 'dirty bomb' prevented in Ukraine

Apr 14, 2009 at 16:17 | Interfax-Ukraine
A deputy of the Ternopil regional legislature attempted to sell a container, filled with a radioactive substance, for $10 million, Ukraine's Security Service Head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

On April 9, 2009, following a special operation in Ternopil region, the Security Service detained three citizens and seized a container filled with a radioactive substance from them, Nalyvaichenko said.

The members of a criminal group had attempted to sell the container for $10 million, Nalyvaichenko said. This substance could be used by terrorists for making a so-called "dirty bomb," he added.

The three had been planning to sell this container for $10 million, as they were sure the container was filled with 3.672 kilograms of the nuclear material, plutonium 239.