In Georgia prevented an attempt to sell a foreigner uranium for $ 700 thousand.

Employees of the Department of Counterintelligence and Special Operations of the State Security Service of Georgia prevented an attempt to sell the radioactive substance to a foreign citizen. This was reported by the press service of the SGB in Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).

A Georgian citizen was detained during the operation. He reportedly planned to sell uranium-238 to a foreigner in exchange for $700,000. The citizen of which country was the possible buyer, the service did not specify.

A criminal case has been opened under Article 230 of the Criminal Code of Georgia – illegal handling of nuclear materials or devices, radioactive waste, radioactive substances. A person arrested could face up to ten years in prison.

The Georgian authorities have previously reported the suppression of attempts to illegally sell uranium abroad. In 2025, three Chinese citizens were detained in Tbilisi, who were going to export 2 kg of uranium through Russia. They planned to pay $400,000 for the goods. Two years earlier, a man was detained in the city of Poti, who planned to sell uranium for $ 2 million.

On the eve of The New York Times (NYT) reported that a resident of Massachusetts pleaded guilty to charges of importing and selling plutonium from Russia. According to prosecutors, the 44-year-old bought plutonium-239 from a St. Petersburg seller and made at least 67 deals to sell it to customers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. During a search of his home in April 2025, police found ammunition, six firearms, explosives, dangerous chemicals, plutonium and child pornography.