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Russia Foils Atomic Smugglers
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1-3-2007 | Will Stewart

Posted on 01/02/2008 7:12:51 PM PST by blam

Russia foils atomic smugglers

By Will Stewart in Moscow
Last Updated: 11:56pm GMT 02/01/2008

Russia has admitted that customs officials thwarted more than 120 attempts to smuggle "highly radioactive" material out of the country last year.

The disclosure is likely to fuel concern about how many illegal exports were not halted. It will also lead to new fears that Moscow has failed to stop material becoming available on the black market that could be used by terrorists to make radioactive "dirty" bombs.

A further 722 cases of illegal importing of highly radio-active material into Russia were detected - possible evidence of a dangerous trade between ex-Soviet states.

The figures come as Britain continues to demand the extradition of the Russian MP Andrei Lugovoi for allegedly poisoning the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in London in November 2006.

British sources indicate that this polonium originated at a Russian state facility. But Nikolai Kravchenko, of the Russian customs service, said: "Industrial shipments of this substance are being exported from Russia legally."


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: atomic; foils; russia; smugglers

1 posted on 01/02/2008 7:12:55 PM PST by blam
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To: blam
Are there huge stashes of this radioactive junk being held somewhere? As I’ve yet to hear reports of any ‘dirty bombs’ going off anywhere, and there’s been plenty of bombs in Iraq.

It just boggles my mind that there’s all these reports of radioactive material slipping through, yet no reports of it being used.. You’d think they’d have shoved the stuff into their rockets they fire into Israel by now.

2 posted on 01/02/2008 7:19:03 PM PST by kingu (No, I don't use sarcasm tags - it confuses people.)
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To: blam
That suggests quite a few attempts were successful. If I was trying to smuggle something out of the country, I wouldn't be going anywhere near customs.

Who knows who is, in fact, nuclear armed. The best evidence that al-Qaeda doesn't have one is that they haven't set one off.

3 posted on 01/02/2008 7:21:41 PM PST by tlj18 (Mike Huckabee is nonsense on stilts.)
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To: blam

It’s only a matter of time, my friends. Things will get VERY ugly, here.


4 posted on 01/02/2008 7:22:21 PM PST by ryan71
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To: ryan71
"It’s only a matter of time, my friends. Things will get VERY ugly, here."

That's why I have no problem killing the SOB's there.

5 posted on 01/02/2008 7:49:00 PM PST by blam (Secure the border and enforce the law)
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