Georgia arrests three for trying to illegally buy 2 kg of uranium

Three Chinese nationals have been arrested in Georgia on suspicion of attempting to illegally purchase 2 kg of uranium.

The deputy head of the nation’s State Security Service (SSG), Lasha Magradze, told a news briefing that the group planned to pay $400,000 (£300,570) for the nuclear material in the capital, Tbilisi, before transporting it to China via Russia.

The alleged plot was uncovered by intelligence agents when a member of the group was trying to buy radioactive material on the black market, he said.

According to public broadcaster Georgia Today, the three pleaded not guilty in a court in Tbilisi and are being held in custody to prevent them from fleeing the country.

A provision of Georgia’s criminal code prohibiting the purchase of nuclear material carries up to five years in prison.

Mr. Magradze told reporters that the operation was being coordinated by other members of the group in China.

SSG footage shows armed soldiers pouncing on a car and detaining three people.

It also shows two glass jars containing a yellow substance in the boot of the car, which the test has identified as uranium.

It is unclear which isotopes of uranium the men discovered – although all can emit harmful radiation – and what they intended for it.

As a former Soviet nation, Georgia had stockpiles of nuclear material after the collapse of the bloc in 1991.

The safety of the material is a constant concern, with several serious cases of illicit uranium sales.

In July, the SSG arrested two people – a Georgian and a Turkish national – for trying to trade $3m worth of uranium.