Security officials at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom captured a shipment containing several Kilograms of Uranium. Following the bust, the airport authorities launched a major anti-terrorism probe. The shipment in question belonged to a UK firm with Iranian linkage.
The event took place on Wednesday, 29 December 2022. The Heathrow airport authorities discovered the uranium substance during a routine luggage screening.
The world has begun to see nuclear material as deadly and dangerous across the globe. However, Daily Mail, a UK-based tabloid, reports that the Uranium was not weapons-grade. No one could use the material to manufacture thermonuclear weapons.
The sun, a British Tabloid, reports that the Uranium package originated in Pakistan. It reached Heathrow Airport aboard an Oman Air Passenger’s Flight from Muscat. After the security agencies at the airport discovered the substance as Uranium, they put it in a radioactive chamber. Following this, they summoned the counter-terrorism officers.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the Border Force at Heathrow contacted the Counter-Terrorism officers of the Met Command. The officials of the met police assured the people that the amount of radioactive substance identified was extremely small.
The officials of the Metropolitan Police and Security Services interacted with the media to inform the people about the incident. The Commander of Met Police and Security Force, Richard Smith, talked to the press. He also noted that the experts had assessed the material in question.
Following the assessment, the experts have confirmed that Uranium, in the small amount that the airport security officials found it in, does not pose any significant risk to the General Public.
Meanwhile, he said, the security forces are continuously investigating the incident. So far, the investigation does not link to any significant direct threat. However, the commander of the Met Police Command stated that they will continue to follow up on the quest to ensure that no considerable threat comes up.
