BRATISLAVA, December 15, (WEBNOVINY) — An inconspicuous group of elderly men including their 71-year old leader ended up in police custody after being detained by Slovak and Czech law enforcement authorities trying to illegally trade radioactive materials. Director of the General Prosecutor’s Office for Special Operations Peter Sufliarsky refused to specify the precise nature of the material, originating in a country of the former Soviet Union, that they were planning to sell. According to Police Corps President Jaroslav Spisiak, the agreed purchase price was half a million euros.
Six members of the gang were Slovak citizens; the seventh was a Czech with residence in Slovakia. They were already under surveillance in the past due to similar activities and if they are convicted they could now face prison sentences of three to ten years.
Authorities initially learnt about the group’s activities in 2009 and were monitoring them until September 2011. The trade was originally planned to take place in the Czech Republic in Uherske Hradiste district, informed Brno county prosecution’s Roman Kafka. They later changed the plan and wanted to do carry out the trade in Slovakia. Spisiak informed that the result of Czech and Slovak cooperation was that no radioactive material was imported either to the Czech Republic or to Slovakia, as police intervened before this could happen.
SITA