Russian Servicemen Accused of Theft of RAM

[MIannaccone@dhhs.state.nh.us]

11:08 AM ET 02/01/00

Russian Servicemen Accused of Theft

        VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) _ Four Russian sailors and a retired
officer have been arrested for allegedly stealing radioactive fuel
from a nuclear-powered submarine in Russia's Pacific Fleet,
officials said Tuesday.
        The theft at the Vilyuchinsk-3 submarine base on the Kamchatka
Peninsula in Russia's Far East was discovered on Jan. 13, and the
four sailors were arrested the same day, said Andrei Bykov, an aide
to the Pacific Fleet military prosecutor.
        The sailors confessed and said they had been assisted by a
retired radiological safety officer, who was also arrested, the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
        A search of the suspects' belongings turned up a cache of spare
parts for submarine equipment containing gold, silver, platinum and
palladium, Bykov said. The suspects said they had intended to sell
the precious metals and radioactive fuel.
        Investigators are trying to determine whether the theft caused a
radiation leak, he said.
        Thefts of military equipment and toxic fuel by servicemen in
Russia's demoralized and underfunded military have become frequent
in recent years. In September, thieves disabled a nuclear submarine
in Russia's Northern Fleet by pilfering vital equipment.

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