Paramilitary police in Istanbul have seized about a kilogram of uranium and detained two Turks who attempted to sell the substance to undercover agents, a security official told AFP on Wednesday.
The two men told police they had bought the 1.022 grams (2.2 pounds) of uranium, which can be used in building nuclear weapons, in Istanbul from a Russian man of Azeri origin several months ago.
The detentions came just a day after US President George W. Bush warned leaders from central and eastern Europe that the al-Qaeda network of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden were seeking to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
The seizure in Istanbul took place on Tuesday as undercover agents arranged a final meeting with the peddlers, with whom they had been in contact for a month, said the official, who declined to be named.
The two men agreed to sell the uranium for 750,000 dollars (831,000 euros).
"They were barely aware of what they were selling. They only knew that it was a very expensive substance and wanted to make money," he said.
Police have often seized illicit substances, including nuclear materials, in Istanbul, a hub of criminal activity located at the meeting point between Asia and Europe.
The trafficking of illicit substances has increased since the end of the Cold War as Istanbul attracted tens of thousand of people from former Communist countries dealing in the so-called "suitcase trade."
In August, police arrested six Turks for trafficking nuclear material as part of efforts to break up rings smuggling radioactive substances -- ISTANBUL, (AFP)
