Brazilian Federal Police investigates uranium trafficking for extremist groups

Here in Brazil, 58 people are suspected of smuggling of precious stones and ores. Among these ores, they would smuggle Uranium and other radioactive materials to extremist groups. The ores were sent to Portugal, Belgium, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

I can only find Brazilian news websites talking about this, so I'll translate the news.

Goiânia - An operation by the Federal Police centered in Goiás and that is happening this Thursday, 26, in other six States, investigates a gang suspected of intense trafficking of precious stones and ores like Uranium. Five people have been arrested in Goiás. The suspects may have provided the uranium to radical extremists to be enriched and used in the production of nuclear material used in terrorist acts.

The Federal Police has not released the names of the prisoners or the location of the prisons. The suspects will answer, among other crimes, for usurpation of raw materials belonging to the Union and formation of criminal organizations. The sentences, added, can get up to 37 years.

Altogether 58 warrants have been issued against businessmen and precious stones and ores traders. Goiás is a big producer of both. There are 10 temporary arrest warrants, 19 of search and seizure and 29 coercive conductions. Around 200 Federal Police agents are involved in the operation in Goiás, Minas Gerais, Distrito Federal, São Paulo, Pará, Pernambuco and Tocantins.

...

Police has informed that the products left Brazil heading for Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, passing through Portugal, Belgium and Israel, before getting to the extremist group to whom the smuggling was directed, whose name hasn't been released yet. The investigations lasted about two years.

www.folhavitoria.com.br...

(Sorry if my translation isn't perfect, this was the best I could do)

Anyway, I think it's sad what some people are willing to do for money. These people are very aware of the consequences of what they are doing, but apparently it doesn't matter to them as long as they get rich doing it.

I believe there needs to be a much bigger effort to stop these kinds of activities, because we all know what these guys are capable of doing with simple explosives, imagine if some of them had access to nuclear materials.
Maybe that is why they buy it from Brazil, we're not exactly known for our security, unfortunately.

a reply to: Thorsen

Wow!450 kg of enriched uranium ore, a dangerous mineral used for nuclear arms production.

originally posted by: ReadLeader
a reply to: Thorsen

Wow!450 kg of enriched uranium ore, a dangerous mineral used for nuclear arms production.

It's not enriched right out of the ground, but it would make a dirty bomb.