TBILISI, October 8 – Georgian prosecutors have charged a Georgian citizen accused of illegally acquiring and storing radioactive uranium that authorities say he planned to sell to a foreign national.
According to Interpressnews, the Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday that the suspect had been arrested following an investigation by the State Security Service’s counterintelligence department.
According to prosecutors, the man illegally acquired and kept the radioactive material and intended to sell it to a citizen of another country for USD 700,000.
The charges carry a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Prosecutors said they would ask a court to order the suspect held in custody while the case proceeds.
The case follows an announcement earlier Wednesday by the State Security Service that it had arrested a Georgian citizen over the alleged illegal handling of uranium. The statement was accompanied by a video showing a dramatic arrest with numerous heavily armed agents.
The security agency said at the time that the material was uranium-238, the non-fissile isotope that makes up most natural uranium. This is different from enriched uranium, which contains a higher proportion of the fissile uranium-235.
