9kg depleted uranium worth Rs 24 crore seized; 2 detained

Kshatriya87

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http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...m-worth-rs-24-crore-seized-2-detained-2285256

Police today seized 8.86 kilograms of depleted uranium worth around Rs 24 crore and detained two persons in the adjoining Thane district. The depleted uranium was brought from abroad and was to be sold in India, police said.

Anti-chain snatching squad of Thane Crime Branch laid a trap near a hotel on Ghodbundar Road on receiving specific information that two persons were coming there to sell the radioactive element. Police detained two people moving with a blue hand bag which contained two blocks of the sensitive material wrapped in velvet cloth. The bag also had a laboratory report which indicated the said metal was uranium, they said.

The metal is banned for sale in the open market as it is used in the atomic energy plants.

"We have detained two persons with the metal. As its sale is banned in the open market, we can't ascertain its value. But, it may be worth around Rs 24 crore," police officials said. Joint Commissioner of Police Ashutosh Dumbre told PTI, "We are filing a case under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and sending the metal for laboratory testing. After receiving report, we will take further action accordingly. We will go to the root of the matter."
 

Mikesingh

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Depleted Uranium by itself though fairly dangerous but when used with weapons it is pretty deadly. Anti tank DU weapons which were dependent on kinectic energy, have now been replaced by smart weapons. However, DU is still used in some kinds of ammo.

DU is also used as aircraft ballast, as shielding, and in oil well drilling equipment. The potential of recycled DU contaminated metals reaching the consumer market in various products is a concern. DU can also be used to hardened shelters in a nuclear environment.

Not much use by terrorists anyway as manufacturing DU munitions isn't easy as Uranium 238 is hard to come by.
 

Mikesingh

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Not true. DU maintains its radioactivity for millions of years. It can easily be used to poison water supply, food and ration supplies. If it enters the food chain, it will be an unmitigated disaster. Explosions aren't the only way to hurt civilian population.
Agreed! But if it was that easy for terrorists to obtain and convert DU as a weapon of mass destruction as you have mentioned, half the world would have got cancer by now!! The terrorists would have used this as a weapon for blackmail long ago! They haven't so far as getting hold of adequate quantities of DU is not worth the effort.
 

Krusty

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Agreed! But if it was that easy for terrorists to obtain and convert DU as a weapon of mass destruction as you have mentioned, half the world would have got cancer by now!! The terrorists would have used this as a weapon for blackmail long ago! They haven't so far as getting hold of adequate quantities of DU is not worth the effort.
I never said it was easy to get hold of it. That's why this bust is alarming. Locations Grain storages in India is widely known. And water treatment plants and pipelines too. The only thing that makes DU impractical is obtaining it. Authorities should perform a thorough investigation and figure out where it was headed. Tight Control of supply is out first and last line of Defence.
 

Kshatriya87

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Depleted Uranium by itself though fairly dangerous but when used with weapons it is pretty deadly. Anti tank DU weapons which were dependent on kinectic energy, have now been replaced by smart weapons. However, DU is still used in some kinds of ammo.

DU is also used as aircraft ballast, as shielding, and in oil well drilling equipment. The potential of recycled DU contaminated metals reaching the consumer market in various products is a concern. DU can also be used to hardened shelters in a nuclear environment.

Not much use by terrorists anyway as manufacturing DU munitions isn't easy as Uranium 238 is hard to come by.
DU can't be used as explosives. Maximum the terrorists can do is fill DU in explosives to spread some radiation rendering that area unusable for a few weeks.
 

Kshatriya87

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I never said it was easy to get hold of it. That's why this bust is alarming. Locations Grain storages in India is widely known. And water treatment plants and pipelines too. The only thing that makes DU impractical is obtaining it. Authorities should perform a thorough investigation and figure out where it was headed. Tight Control of supply is out first and last line of Defence.
Right. The fact they caught this DU only a few KM from my house alarms me. These restricted material shouldn't be in the hands of civilians in the first place.
 

FalconSlayers

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Depleted uranium is used in US GAU 8/A machine gun bullets in A10 warthog and tank armour rounds.
It is concerning that in month we have seen another uranium smuggling case
Used in Hosptals, but now Porkies 🇵🇰 will call it a nuclear conspiracy against them🤣😆.
 

FalconSlayers

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Porkis would be screaming the hell out of themselves now!



Anyways, it should be a big concern for us.
2 arrested with suspected radioactive material Californium near Kolkata airport
Acting on a tip-off, CID officers arrested Sailan Karmakar, 41, and Asit Ghosh, 49, both residents of Hooghly district in West Bengal on Wednesday
By HT Correspondent

PUBLISHED ON AUG 26, 2021 03:37 PM IST
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested two persons from near the NSCBI airport near Kolkata with around 250 grams of suspected Californium, a synthetic radioactive material that is often used in nuclear reactors.

Acting on a tip-off, CID officers arrested Sailan Karmakar, 41, and Asit Ghosh, 49, both residents of Hooghly district in West Bengal on Wednesday.

“Four ash-coloured stones weighing around 250 grams were seized from the accused. Preliminary enquiry revealed that it could be Californium. They were trying to sell it for a few lakh rupees,” said an officer.
CID officials said the samples would be sent to a government laboratory to verify whether they were Californium, a gram of which may cost up to a few crore rupees.

“The accused persons have said they got the material from Kerala and brought here to sell. We are verifying all statements,” said the officer.

Officers said the seized stones sparkled and seemed to be loaded with minerals. Californium is not found in nature and was first produced in a laboratory at University of California, Berkeley, in 1950 by US scientists. The metal is silvery white and is soft.

 

Rajaraja Chola

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This is getting insane. Security needs to be needed up at mining locations and power plants. Every year news are coming on uranium sellings. And these are the ones we know. We need to clamp on them hard or else should be ready to face IAEA music.
 

FalconSlayers

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This is getting insane. Security needs to be needed up at mining locations and power plants. Every year news are coming on uranium sellings. And these are the ones we know. We need to clamp on them hard or else should be ready to face IAEA music.
This news of Californium is more concerning than previous Uranium news because those Uranium recovered were useless, Californium can be used to make a dirty bomb.
 

Rajaraja Chola

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This news of Californium is more concerning than previous Uranium news because those Uranium recovered were useless, Californium can be used to make a dirty bomb.
Nevertheless depleted or not it's a security scare and if handled uselessly can result in environmental issues as well. As of now, I am pretty sure US and Pak intelligence is working on to expose how "fragile" our security is to show how India doesn't deserve to be in the big league.
Security agencies need to pull up the socks. Remember if they are selling it means they already have a buyer and it's not the first time it's happening. And it's happening quite too "frequently" in the last 2-3 years.
 

Coalmine

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Nevertheless depleted or not it's a security scare and if handled uselessly can result in environmental issues as well. As of now, I am pretty sure US and Pak intelligence is working on to expose how "fragile" our security is to show how India doesn't deserve to be in the big league.
Security agencies need to pull up the socks. Remember if they are selling it means they already have a buyer and it's not the first time it's happening. And it's happening quite too "frequently" in the last 2-3 years.
Its because of modi who has given too much freedom to opposition govt like mamta , uddhav, etc and not taking actions against anti nationals.
Ultimately they need to act against muzzies who are stop pilfering radioactive materials. That will need balls.
 

FalconSlayers

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Its because of modi who has given too much freedom to opposition govt like mamta , uddhav, etc and not taking actions against anti nationals.
Ultimately they need to act against muzzies who are stop pilfering radioactive materials. That will need balls.
They were likely commies who were caught with californium
 

Rajaraja Chola

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Its because of modi who has given too much freedom to opposition govt like mamta , uddhav, etc and not taking actions against anti nationals.
Ultimately they need to act against muzzies who are stop pilfering radioactive materials. That will need balls.
Don't bring politics into this. The security of central institution is under central govt. It's the responsibility of intelligence to take care of it. Even Mamata or Uddhav aren't idiots to not arrest people if they are involved with radio active elements
 

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