By Admin 
Security forces have arrested three Chinese citizens in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. The allegation is that they were trying to buy 2 kilograms (about 4.4 pounds) of uranium illegally. The country’s State Security Service (SSG) gave information about this arrest on Saturday and also released the video of the operation.
plan to transport uranium
According to the security service, the accused were planning to transport nuclear material to China via Russia. For this the criminal group had planned to pay $400,000 (about 3.44 lakh euros). A Chinese national already in Georgia, who was violating Georgian visa rules, called in a team of experts to search for uranium in the country.
The plan was going on from China
Members of other criminal groups were coordinating this operation from China. The arrested criminals were caught negotiating the terms of illegal transactions, the security service said. The security agency has not yet made public the exact date of the arrest or the identity of the accused. A video of the operation was released showing how the arrest was carried out.
Arrest was made in 2019 also
In the year 2019, the security agencies of Georgia had detained two people. They were accused of trying to handle and sell uranium-238 worth $2.8 million (about Rs 23 crore).
121 people were caught in 2016
In 2016, Georgian authorities arrested 121 people, including citizens of Georgia and Armenia. This action was taken during two covert operations in the same month. These people were accused of trying to sell uranium-238 and uranium-235 worth about $203 million (about Rs 1,700 crore).
Nuclear security became a big concern after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the security of nuclear materials became a major concern for Georgia, one of its member states. After the closure of Soviet-era research institutes, the security of the country’s remaining nuclear material weakened, making Georgia an easy target for smugglers.