"Authorities accused a Chinese citizen already in Georgia who was in breach of visa regulations of bringing experts to Georgia to search for uranium throughout the country. Other members of the criminal group coordinated the operation from China, authorities said. The perpetrators were identified and detained while negotiating the details of the illegal transaction, the State Security Service said. The agency did not specify when the arrests occurred or provide the identities of the suspects."
"Members of the group planned to pay $400,000 for the radioactive material, authorities said. They face charges that could see them imprisoned for up to 10 years. Several serious incidents involving the illicit trade in nuclear materials have occurred in Georgia over recent years. In July, Georgia arrested one Georgian and one Turkish national and charged them with the illegal purchase, possession and disposal of radioactive substances, which the State Security Service said could have been used to make a bomb."
Three Chinese citizens were detained in Tbilisi while allegedly attempting to buy 2kg of uranium and transport it to China through Russia. Authorities reported the operation was coordinated from China and that a Chinese citizen in Georgia had brought in experts to search the country. The group negotiated a $400,000 payment and were identified and arrested while arranging the transaction. Charges carry up to 10 years in prison. Georgia has faced multiple illicit nuclear material incidents in recent years, including arrests in July, a 2019 uranium-238 case, and large-scale 2016 detentions.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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