The Guardian, January 16, 2023, reports :
"Man arrested on suspicion of
terror offence after Heathrow uranium seizure"
"[UK] Police launched
investigation after traces of radioactive element found in material at the
airport in December [2022].
… The
man was arrested after counter-terrorism officers searched an address in
Cheshire on Saturday, on suspicion of an offence under section 9 of the
Terrorism Act 2006, which covers the making and possession of radioactive devices…”
Pete Comment
The man's package (in the aircraft hold not on him?) from Pakistan, via Oman, to the UK, carried a "trace amount" (less than 100 grams?) of Uranium. See video here and above.
It sounds likely the man arrested is a Muslim, hence terrorism is immediately suspected.
Does he work in the Uranium mining industry?
Muslim majority countries with large Uranium mining industries (a country that extracts more than 1,000 tonne/year) include Niger, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan mined an estimated 45 tonnes of (non-enriched) Uranium in 2021.
The main risk from a large quantity (1+kg) of HEU is a radiological "dirty" bomb. While a better known nuclear fission bomb usually consists of several kgs of 90+% HEU and other booster substances.
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