The FSB arrested five citizens who, under the coordination of a Ukrainian citizen, were trying to acquire 1 kg of the cesium-137 radioactive substance for 3.5 million dollars. They were going to take him abroad and use in the area of a special military operation to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction, reported the Center for Public Relations (TsOS) FSB of Russia, transmits CASS.
“The FSB of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Russian Interior Ministry, while illegally acquiring a radioactive substance with the aim of smuggling it out of the Russian Federation, arrested five members of a criminal group organized acting under the coordination of a Ukrainian citizen, in flagrante delicto,” the CSO said.
According to the intelligence service, the detainees acted in the interest of a foreign client. The group took steps to acquire 1 kg of the cesium-137 isotope for $3.5 million in order to smuggle the substance overseas for use in a special military operation area to charge Russia from using weapons of mass destruction, the FSB explained.
Criminal proceedings were initiated under Art. 220 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Illegal handling of radioactive substances”) and Art. 30, s. 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Preparation for smuggling of radioactive substances”). The suspects have been taken into custody and are making confessions, the DSP added.
Cesium 137 is one of the main components of radioactive contamination in the biosphere. This substance is found in radioactive fallout, radioactive waste, discharges from factories that process waste from nuclear power plants. Cesium-137 is intensely sorbed by soil and bottom sediments.
On June 20, the FSB announced the detention of a Ukrainian citizen in Nalchik on suspicion of espionage. According to the intelligence service, the detainee acted on the instructions of the Ukrainian Security Service: he collected and handed over to a foreign intelligence officer “information of a military nature” in order to use it against Russia in a military operation. The day before, on June 19, the FSB announced the prevention of a series of terrorist attacks against the authorities of the Zaporizhzhia region and the security forces.
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