Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) has detained three Chinese nationals in Tbilisi for attempting to illegally purchase two kilogrammes of uranium.
The security agency announced the arrests on 25 October.
It claimed that the three unidentified suspects intended to purchase the uranium for $400,000 and to illegally transport it to China via Russia. The SSG added that one of those detained was in Georgia illegally, and had brought experts interested in the acquisition of uranium, who began ‘searching for nuclear material throughout the country’.
The SSG said that the purchase and search for uranium was coordinated from China by ‘other members of the criminal group’.
The suspects were detained based on ‘operational information’ the SSG had received during their negotiations over the uranium with potential sellers. Their homes in Tbilisi and Batumi were additionally searched.
Footage accompanying the SSG’s statement shows security forces detaining two men and one woman on the side of a road. Two jars can be seen in the boot of a vehicle, with a radioactive measuring device identifying their contents as special nuclear material — material that could be used as an ingredient for nuclear explosives.
If found guilty, the three suspects could face up to 10 years in prison on charges of illegal handling of nuclear material.
In July, the SSG detained two people in Batumi they accused of attempting to sell an unspecified amount of uranium for $3 million. They said one of the detainees was Georgian, while the other was an unspecified foreign national.
Yousef Bardouka
