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Turkish Police Detain Suspects Selling Uranium
Reuters | 11/06/01

Posted on 11/06/2001 9:28:51 AM PST by kattracks

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Paramilitary police arrested two Turks on Tuesday after they attempted to sell weapons-grade uranium to undercover officers, police said.

The suspects had agreed to sell the officers 2.56 pounds of uranium of a quality which could be used to develop a nuclear weapon, the police official told Reuters.

The arrests came the same day President Bush warned East European leaders that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network could be seeking nuclear weapons to step up its fight against the United States.

Bush said bin Laden's agents were active in at least 60 countries. The president named bin Laden as prime suspect behind the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington which killed nearly 5,000 people.

Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency reported the men had bought the weapons-grade uranium earlier this year from an unidentified source, who had brought the uranium from an East European country into Turkey.

The suspects had offered the uranium, wrapped in newspaper, to the officers for $750,000, Anatolian said.

Turkey's state nuclear research authority is now in possession of the material, the agency said.

Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited.


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events
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1 posted on 11/06/2001 9:28:51 AM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks
Wrapped in newspaper? They must be omitting that it was first wrapped in several steel containers.
2 posted on 11/06/2001 9:36:49 AM PST by japaneseghost
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: japaneseghost
Maybe not wrapped in steel. Maybe just newspapers. LOL! Criminals aren't the brightest bulbs on the string.

/john

4 posted on 11/06/2001 9:40:05 AM PST by JRandomFreeper
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To: kattracks
"PSST- Hey Meester, you want some pretty plutonium I got, reel cheep.
I'll throw in my seester for nawthing.
5 posted on 11/06/2001 9:40:51 AM PST by Semper Paratus
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To: kattracks
The suspects had offered the uranium, wrapped in newspaper, to the officers for $750,000

About $5 million would get enough weapons-grade U to make one device. Be sure to throw it all into your knapsack for easy transport.

6 posted on 11/06/2001 9:44:40 AM PST by RightWhale
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To: kattracks
Weapons grade uranium wrapped in newspaper? BTW, the article never actually SAYS that what they were selling was actually uranium.
7 posted on 11/06/2001 9:54:44 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants
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To: kattracks; harpseal; Travis McGee; Victoria Delsoul; Spirit Of Truth; Manny Festo...
The suspects had offered the uranium, wrapped in newspaper, to the officers for $750,000, Anatolian said.

Now these are clever terrorists...

Wrapping a highly radioactive material in the lead story.


8 posted on 11/06/2001 10:01:43 AM PST by Sabertooth
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To: Sabertooth; *TerrOrWar
Wrapped in paper?

Take those guys to the hospital.

To find all articles tagged or indexed using above index words

Go here:

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

and then click the topic to initiate the search! !

9 posted on 11/06/2001 10:14:52 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Weapons grade uranium wrapped in newspaper? BTW, the article never actually SAYS that what they were selling was actually uranium.

Yes it does:

Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency reported the men had bought the weapons-grade uranium earlier this year from an unidentified source, who had brought the uranium from an East European country into Turkey.

10 posted on 11/06/2001 10:25:08 AM PST by butter pecan fan
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To: butter pecan fan
Anyone know how much of this stuff it takes to make a bomb?
11 posted on 11/06/2001 10:26:30 AM PST by butter pecan fan
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To: kattracks
This is both encouraging and really bad news all at the same time.

Thank goodness Turkey is on our side.

12 posted on 11/06/2001 10:30:29 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: butter pecan fan
About $5 million street price.
13 posted on 11/06/2001 10:33:15 AM PST by RightWhale
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To: Sabertooth
Wrapping a highly radioactive material in the lead story.

Hehehe, not bad.

14 posted on 11/06/2001 10:36:53 AM PST by Victoria Delsoul
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To: japaneseghost
Its been a while since I studied nuclear physics, but I think even highly enriched weapons grade Uranium 235 needs about 15 Kg. in a spherical configuration for a fissionable reaction to take place. Unless the 2.5lb. of uranium is being bombarded with neutrons from an external source, I think it would be unlikely to harm those handling it, unless it was breathed as dust.
15 posted on 11/06/2001 10:47:37 AM PST by SC DOC
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To: kattracks
Look like a freeper got this right earlier (Even though that particular freeper is something of a malcontent troll, "milosivec2"?).

This is frightening..

16 posted on 11/06/2001 11:13:23 AM PST by Paradox
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To: kattracks; Milosevic2
Well, this exonerates Milosevic2, who made a claim this morning about someone trying to obtain 1 kilo of Uranium in Turkey. He provided no link and was flamed royally as a disruptor.

Milo, if you remember which thread that was, go back and ping those flamers to this post with a "told you so" tag.

17 posted on 11/06/2001 11:18:38 AM PST by Rebelbase
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To: SC DOC
"highly enriched weapons grade Uranium 235 needs about 15 Kg. in a spherical configuration for a fissionable reaction to take place. "

I don't know the specifics, but a kilo of this stuff would, in my best judgement, make a dandy little "dirty bomb".

18 posted on 11/06/2001 11:21:38 AM PST by Rebelbase
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To: Rebelbase
It would make an excellent dirty bomb, particularly if it were ground into fine dust before it was exploded and dispersed. Again, since it decays with production of an alpha particle, inhalation is the only way for significant risk other than shrapnel wounds with imbedded uranium.
19 posted on 11/06/2001 12:00:47 PM PST by SC DOC
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To: SC DOC
Ditto.
20 posted on 11/06/2001 12:54:27 PM PST by father_elijah
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