The London Metropolitan Police (Met) is investigating the discovery of uranium-contaminated metal last December at London’s Heathrow airport, although it does not appear to be linked to a “direct threat”. Agents from the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command took charge of the case after receiving a security alert on December 29.
The uranium apparently came from Pakistan and alarms went off at Heathrow after specialized scanners detected the substance while it was being transported to a cargo shed owned by the Swissport company, according to the newspaper “The Sun”.
“We can confirm that colleagues from the Border Force at Heathrow contacted Met Counter Terrorism Command officers after a very small amount of contaminated material was identified following a routine check within a package entering the UK.” , points to a note from the Met.
The Commander Richard Smith, of the anti-terrorism command, told the BBC that although the investigation is continuing, the finding “does not appear to be linked to any direct threat.” “However, as the public would expect, we will continue to follow up on all lines of inquiry to ensure that this is definitely the case,” he added. The media emphasize today that it is not yet clear what the destination of the shipment was.
Uranium may have nuclear-related uses once refined or enriched. This is accomplished through the use of centrifuges, machines that spin at supersonic speeds. Low enriched uranium can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
Source: Lasexta
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