NTI Website Resources on Nuclear Trafficking

NTI Website Resources on Nuclear Trafficking
http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_special_nuctrafficking.html

On January 25, 2007, the media reported the seizure of 100 grams of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in Georgia. The actual incident occurred in 2006, and some earlier reports about a seizure of uranium of unspecified enrichment level in Georgia were published in February 2006. However, no additional information about this incident was made public in the ensuing year.

According to the January 25, 2007 story in the New York Times, the material involved is HEU. The level of enrichment--nearly 90-percent enriched U-235--makes it ideal material for the construction of a nuclear weapon, although, the seized amount is too low to be sufficient for a bomb. The HEU seizure in Georgia was the result of a sting operation conducted by the Georgian secret services, who became aware of a Russian national from North Ossetia (a region of the Russian Federation that borders South Ossetia, a separatist region in Georgia), looking for a buyer for 2-3 kilograms of enriched uranium. A Georgian undercover agent was able to convince the would-be seller to bring a sample of the material to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Oleg Khinsagov, the main perpetrator, and three accomplices from Georgia were arrested with 100 grams of the material on February 1, 2006.

In seeking the origin of the material, Georgian authorities turned to the United States and Russia for assistance. Both countries were provided small samples of the material for analysis. However, according to Georgian sources, Russian experts were not able to establish the origin of the material. The 2007 New York Times report also mentions the seizure of 170 grams of HEU on the border between Georgia and Armenia in 2003. In this earlier case, as reported, the material came from a nuclear facility in Novosibirsk. The report does not rule out the possibility that the HEU seized in February 2006 is also of Russian origin.

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has gathered the following information on nuclear trafficking and highly enriched uranium as well as the table below of confirmed proliferation-significant incidents of fissile material trafficking in the NIS (1991 - 2007). Go to link for information.
http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_special_nuctrafficking.html