ArmInfo. The staff of the Armenian Embassy in Georgia will soon meet with an RA citizen arrested on charges of illegal handling of radioactive substances and violation of customs regulations. This is stated in the statement of the Armenian Embassy in Georgia.
The Armenian Embassy recalled that a citizen of the Republic of Armenia M.M. was detained by State Security Service officers on July 11. "According to the Georgian side, he is the owner of wrappers with a total weight of 71.63 kg, which contain the radioactive isotope <thorium 232>, which belongs to the category of nuclear materials. The Tbilisi court decided to use arrest as a measure of restraint. The criminal case was initiated under Part 4 of Article 214 and Part 1 of Article 230 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years. The Main Investigation Department of the Counterintelligence Department of the State Security Service is investigating the case, " the press service of the Armenian Embassy in Georgia reports.
Earlier, Georgian media reported that the State Security Service of Georgia detained an Armenian citizen on the fact of illegal handling of radioactive substances and violation of customs regulations. According to media reports referring to the State Security Service, an investigation into the illegal handling of radioactive substances and the violation of the rules related to the movement of goods across the customs border of Georgia, based on an alarm signal set by the radiation detection portal, began in the counterintelligence department of the State Security Service. "The investigation found out that a cargo minibus run by a citizen of Armenia tried to transfer the substance <thorium> packaged in four wrappers from Armenia to the Russian Federation via Georgia. As a result of the examination, it was established that the total weight of wrappers is 71.63 kg, and they contain the radioactive isotope <thorium 232>, which belongs to the category of nuclear materials. "The radiation power on the surface of wrappers was about 18 ?Sv / h. It is noteworthy that the maximum safe power is 0.5 зSv / h. The seized substance is a threat to human life and health. In the course of the investigation, the owner of the cargo, Armenian citizen Militos M., who was sentenced to imprisonment by the Tbilisi City Court, was detained, the State Security Service said. According to the ministry, the investigation is carried out into the illegal circulation and transportation of radioactive materials (for the first part of Article 230 and the fourth part of Article 241 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies imprisonment for a term of five to ten years. The investigation is conducted by the Main Investigation Department of the Counterintelligence Department of the State Security Service.