Smugglers Carrying Nuke Materials Told To Turnaround

Georgian customs officers sent a car carrying a mixture of plutonium and beryllium back to Azerbaijan after foiling an attempt to smuggle the materials over the border, Georgian television reported yesterday

Customs officials found the materials, which can be used in the making of nuclear bombs, during what appeared to be a routine customs check as the car was driven over the border from Azerbaijan, the Imedi tele- vision station reported.

“Georgian customs detected a high level of radiation while checking one of the cars,” Imedi reported.

“They discovered plutonium-beryllium.”

The car was sent back to Azerbaijan, although smuggling nuclear materials is a crime under Georgian law.

It was unclear whether Azeri authorities had been informed.

“The decision to send it back was made,” Soso Kakushadze, head of the environment ministry’s radiation department, told Reuters.

“It was the right decision, as it would have been very expensive to keep it in Georgia, and special conditions are needed,” he said…

Georgian special services foiled an attempt by a Russian citizen to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1 million in Georgia in February 2006.

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