Georgia Foiled Uranium Sale

by publicreader | January 25, 2007 at 09:25 am

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Georgian special services have foiled an attempt by a Russian citizen to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1 million (508,000 pounds) to agents he thought were radical Islamists, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.

The official said Oleg Khintsagov, a resident of Russia's North Ossetia region, was arrested on February 1 2006 and a closed court soon after convicted him to 8 1/2 years in prison.

Curiouser, and curiouser, as Lewis Carroll might have said, are the actions of the Russians. Apparently, the Russian government was notified about the sting, set up by the CIA and the Georgian security service. They acquired 3.5 oz. of weapons grade uranium from Mr. Khintsagov, and at several stages in the investigation invited the Russians to participate. They did not, and have been reticent about the origins of the uranium since.

3.5 oz. of uranium ( 99.2 grams) is not enough uranium to make even a small nuclear weapon. At the Georgian black market rate, a Hiroshima sized bomb would cost over a billion dollars.

The seller claimed to have access to more uranium-235.

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