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London [UK]Jan 12 (ANI): A shipment containing several kilograms of uranium, which could be used in dirty bombs, has been seized from a shipment departing from Pakistan at Britain’s Heathrow Airport, The Sun reports.
According to the British tabloid The Sun, the package containing uranium came from Pakistan and landed at Heathrow Terminal 4 on an Oman Air flight from Muscat.
Packages containing radioactive material were found at UK airports following routine checks on December 29.
A package of uranium found in the cargo area of ​​Heathrow Airport was sent to a company in the UK with links to Iran, The Sun has reported.
A major counter-terrorism investigation has been launched.
Border Force agents quarantined the shipment in a radioactive chamber and brought in counterterrorism officials after discovering it was uranium.
“We can confirm that officers from the Metropolitan Counter Terrorism Command were contacted by Border Force colleagues at Heathrow Airport after routine checks of parcels entering the UK on 29 December 2022 revealed minimal amounts of contaminated material,” the university said. The Metropolitan Police told MailOnline, the British media outlet.
Commander Richard Smith said: “I would like to reassure the public that the amount of contaminated material is extremely small and experts have assessed that it is not a threat to the public,” Commander Richard Smith said, according to the Daily Mail Online.
“While our investigation is ongoing, it does not appear to be related to any immediate threat from our current investigation. However, we will continue to follow up on all available investigative leads to ensure this is the case,” the commander said.
The discovery of the shipment has raised concerns that Pakistan could be used as a transit point for smuggled nuclear material.
Uranium is a naturally occurring element that can be used for nuclear-related purposes once it has been refined or enriched through the use of centrifuges.
The incident also raised concerns about Pakistan’s handling of nuclear material. Pakistan has a turbulent history with nuclear materials, with several incidents of illegal proliferation of nuclear technology and materials reported in the past.
In 2004, the whole world was shocked to learn that Abdul Kadir Khan, the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb, had operated the black market of nuclear technology for more than ten years and provided nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and other countries. North Korea. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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