Georgian security officers apprehend three Chinese citizens trying to purchase uranium

Three Chinese citizens have been arrested in Tbilisi, Georgia, while attempting to illegally purchase 2 kilograms of uranium. The arrests followed an operation in which the GSS uncovered a criminal scheme to smuggle uranium from Georgia to China. 

The GSS deployed the country’s counterintelligence unit to carry out the arrests, according to information published by the Georgian State Security Service (GSS) and cited by Georgian outlets. The operation demonstrates the high level of coordination required to dismantle the plot, their statement noted. 

Deputy Head of the GSS, Lasha Magradze, detailed that the suspects had planned a complex route for transporting the nuclear material. Their scheme involved moving the uranium from Georgia to Russia through the “Verkhny Lars” checkpoint, before delivering it to the Russian-Chinese border in Eastern Siberia. 

The arrested individuals were reportedly preparing to pay $400,000 for the radioactive material. According to Magradze, the criminal group included a Chinese national already present in Georgia, who had violated Georgian visa regulations. This individual had brought experts into Georgia to locate uranium within the country. Other members of the group coordinated the operation from China, maintaining international links to facilitate the transaction.

The GSS emphasized that the suspects were apprehended while actively negotiating the details of the illegal purchase, indicating that authorities intercepted the plot before the transfer of the nuclear material could take place. 

By Nazrin Sadigova