Four arrested for possessing 2.5 kg of unprocessed uranium in Nepal

Kathmandu, March 13

Four Nepalese were arrested here on Saturday for possession of 2.5 kg of unprocessed uranium, police said, indicating that this was the first time such a case was reported.

A house in Boudha area was raided, based on a tip-off, and four persons were found hiding 2.5 kg of Uranium 238, officials said at a press briefing.

This is perhaps the first time that arrests have been made in connection to uranium smuggling, they said. Nepal has no technology centre or agency where this metal can be used, they added.

The arrested -- two aged 20 years and two aged 40 years -- will be charged under the Explosives Act.

The first intelligence input was that some persons were trying to sell uranium in the black market, officials said, based on which further investigation was done.

One of the arrested persons has claimed that her father-in-law had brought the material from India 20 years ago, where he worked in a uranium mine, according to The Kathmandu Post. The police are looking into the claim.

Uranium 238 is a natural occurring metal. Its enriched form can be used to generate electricity and in nuclear weapons. Processed uranium costs about USD 150 million per kilogram. PTI