(WTNH) — Authorities in Moldova say they’ve broken up a criminal ring with ties to Russia. The group was looking to sell radioactive material to ISIS. The nuclear material included uranium and cesium, which in larger amounts could be used to make a dirty bomb.
The FBI has been working with Moldovan investigators on the sting operation, in which informants and police posed as gangsters to penetrate the smuggling networks. The investigation found that criminal networks with suspected Russian ties have tried to sell radioactive material to extremists through Moldova at least four times in five years. It also found that the smugglers have been specifically targeting buyers who are enemies of the West. The latest known case came this past February, when a smuggler tried to sell a giant cache of cesium to a buyer from the Islamic State group. Authorities say the sting operation shows that the men trying to sell the material would not have hesitated to sell to ISIS if the price had been right. Officials are still expecting to find more cases of smuggling.
“The amount of radioactive material primarily from medical and industrial use is widespread,” said ABC News Consultant and former FBI Profiler Brad Garrett. “It’s all over the world.”
The FBI and the White House have declined to comment.
