Nuclear Smugglers Tried Selling Radioactive Materials To ISIS
- 9 years ago
In the backwaters of Eastern Europe, authorities working with the FBI have interrupted four attempts in the past five years by gangs with suspected Russian connections that sought to sell radioactive material to Middle Eastern extremists, The Associated Press has learned.
The latest known case came in February this year, when a smuggler offered a huge cache of deadly cesium - enough to contaminate several city blocks - and specifically sought a buyer from the Islamic State group.
Criminal organizations, some with ties to the Russian KGB's successor agency, are driving a thriving black market in nuclear materials in the tiny and impoverished country of Moldova, investigators say.
"We can expect more of these cases," said Constantin Malic, a Moldovan police officer who investigated all four cases.
"As long as the smugglers think they can make big money without getting caught, they will keep doing it."
The latest known case came in February this year, when a smuggler offered a huge cache of deadly cesium - enough to contaminate several city blocks - and specifically sought a buyer from the Islamic State group.
Criminal organizations, some with ties to the Russian KGB's successor agency, are driving a thriving black market in nuclear materials in the tiny and impoverished country of Moldova, investigators say.
"We can expect more of these cases," said Constantin Malic, a Moldovan police officer who investigated all four cases.
"As long as the smugglers think they can make big money without getting caught, they will keep doing it."