U.K. Stops Iranian Nuclear Smuggling Effort

British officials have stopped an Iranian effort to purchase weapon-grade uranium from international smugglers, the London Observer reported yesterday.

Over 20 months, British intelligence services monitored a group of British citizens who successfully acquired the uranium from the Russian black market, according to the Observer. The smugglers planned to sell the material to Iran through a middleman in Sudan, investigators said.

Authorities disrupted the plot in early 2006 before the uranium was delivered. [via Nuclear Threat Initiative]

Labels: Iran, Smuggling, Uranium enrichment, weapons-grade

Nuclear Detectives Podcast from the BBC

This two-part series examines the work of scientists - acting as nuclear detectives - seeking to identify and control the spread of radioactive materials.

Part One: Theft and Smuggling
Given that just one nuclear device in the wrong hands would cause untold devastation and loss of life, keeping track of nuclear material is a top priority.

Where do radioactive materials come from? And how do these become available to the "wrong hands"?

This first program examines theft, smuggling and what happens next.
via BBC

Labels: Nuclear Weapons, Smuggling, Theft