RE Al Qaieda... Congo authorities seize radioactive uranium cases

[LancerGT@AOL.COM]

I really don't what to make of this one. It was interesting reading at least. 

Perhaps it will put us back on topic with this thread

For those who can access the link

03/20: AOL News: Congo authorities seize radioactive uranium cases 



Otherwise read it below. 



Best Regards,

David Lawrence

Montcliar NJ

Congo authorities seize radioactive uranium cases



By Dino Mahtani



KINSHASA, March 20 (Reuters) - Authorities in the Democratic Republic of 

Congo seized two cases containing illegal radioactive uranium in the capital, 

Kinshasa, earlier this month, a senior atomic energy officer said on Saturday.



The two cases, weighing over 100 kilograms (220 lb), contained a mixture of 

stable uranium-238 and radioactive uranium-235, said Professor Fortunat Lumu, 

Congo's General Atomic Energy Officer and a member of the International Atomic 

Energy Agency (IAEA).



He told Reuters both cases had a relatively low level of radioactivity but it 

was "still enough" to cause radioactive contamination if detonated in a 

home-made bomb.



"We were alerted by state security who seized the cases, and we were able to 

confirm that they were radioactive," he said.



Some 50 cases of radioactive uranium and highly radioactive caesium have been 

seized by Congolese authorities in the central African country over the last 

four years, said Lumu.



Officials say cases carrying radioactive material are smuggled into the 

country, from where they are traded across sparsely guarded borders to several of 

Congo's nine neighbours.



They suspect the cases are brought in to Congo for industrial use in the 

region's oil and mining sectors, bypassing international conventions on shipping 

radioactive material.



"It is possible that some of the cases brought in for such use are then 

stolen or traded into the wrong hands, but we cannot say for sure how many times 

this has happened," Lumu said.



The two cases seized earlier this month were of a similar size to many others 

smuggled in and could also have been destined for industrial use.



State authority and border controls are often weak or non-existent in the 

former Zaire, recovering from over five years of a war that involved several of 

its neighbours.



Most of the illegal cases seized in the past have been discovered in 

Kinshasa, although identical cases have also been found in neighbouring Uganda and 

Tanzania, said Lumu.



Oil rich Congo Republic is thought to be the most common destination for the 

nuclear material, with only the Congo river separating its capital, 

Brazzaville, from Kinshasa in the DRC.



Last week, police in neighbouring Zambia arrested two men in possession of a 

suspected bomb-grade uranium cache, adding they suspected it came from the 

Democratic Republic of Congo.







03/20/04 11:50 ET

    

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