The 18 incidents are listed reverse chronological order.
CNS cannot confirm the veracity of these reports.

1999

Doc. Code:19990470
Bibliography: FBIS Document FTS19990529000729
Headline: Customs Seizes Radioactive Uranium at Rousse Check Point
Author:
Orig. Source: BTA (Sofia), 29 May 1999
Date: 29 May 1999

ABSTRACT:

Bulgarian customs agents at the Dunav Most check point on the Bulgarian-Turkish border arrested a Turkish citizen on 28 May 1999 after they found a lead container with uranium in his car, BTA reported. According to customs spokesperson Roumyana Kroumova, the suspect was driving a Toyota Corina from Turkey to Chisinau (the capital of Moldova), when his nervousness attracted the suspicion of customs officers at the Bulgarian border crossing. When the officers searched the car, suspecting that the driver might be a drug courier, they found "a certificate for the purchase of uranium 235," and a 2.4kg lead container with "uranium 235." The report is not clear about the quantity of uranium seized. It says that the exact amount of uranium in the container is unknown, but that "expectations are that it contains the standard 10g." It also does not specify the level of enrichment of the uranium. Specialists later measured "weak radioactive emissions through the lead walls of the container." The suspect, Uskan Hanifi, a Turkish citizen of Kurdish extraction, told police that he had originally purchased the uranium in Moldova and then taken it to Turkey in an attempt to sell it. After failing to market the material in Turkey, he was driving it back to Moldova at the time of his arrest. Bulgarian prosecutors have been notified of the case.

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Doc. Code: 19990010
Bibliography: Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>
Headline: Turkish Secret Services Confiscate Enriched Uranium
Author: Andrey Palariya
Orig. Source: ITAR-TASS, 2 February 1999
Date:2 February 1999

ABSTRACT:

The official Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported on 2 February 1999 that Turkish agents in the western Turkish city of Bursa had seized 100g of "enriched uranium" from four "dealers" who had smuggled it into Turkey from Azerbaijan. According to the report, which did not specify the level of enrichment of the uranium, the smugglers had hoped to sell the uranium for $700,000. A report by the Turkish Anatolian agency on 3 February 1999, by contrast, reported that the Turkish police had seized "a total of 5g of uranium, having a market price of 115 billion Turkish Liras [about $340,000]," and did not use the term "enriched" to describe the uranium, instead terming it simply "uranium." This report named the four suspects in the case as Orhan Kahraman, Ibrahim Aslantas, Halil Aslantas and Yuksel Kucuk, saying they were arrested in Bursa and Kayseri provinces. It noted that the seized uranium had been sent to the Nuclear Research and Training Center in Kucukcekmece for analysis. This report also said the uranium had been smuggled into Turkey from Azerbaijan.[1] The Baku newspaper AZADLYG reported on 3 February 1999 that the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry had refused comment on the case. The paper argued that since Azerbaijan has no uranium, the material must have originated in Russia.[2] A report in the Moscow daily IZVESTIYA on 4 February 1999 repeated the information found in the ITAR-TASS item of 2 February 1999, describing the material seized from the smugglers as "100g of enriched uranium." IZVESTIYA also said the material was worth "$7 million," adding: "Turkish specialists have no doubt: the uranium could be used for the construction of nuclear warheads or other weapons of mass destruction." However, this report did not give any specific information about the level of the enrichment of the uranium.[3] Another report in the Turkish daily SABAH on 5 February 1999 said that interrogation of the suspects, who were arrested by police agents posing as buyers, had revealed that Orhan Kahraman was the "gang leader," adding that the group hoped to sell the uranium in Greece. SABAH said the four suspects were charged with "organizing a group to smuggle nuclear substances," and transferred to the State Security Court in Istanbul. Like the other Turkish source, this article also did not use the term "enriched" to describe the uranium seized. It also did not specify the quantity of uranium involved.[4] In September 1998, media reports indicated that plutonium had been seized from a group of smugglers in Turkey, but Turkish officials have since denied these reports, saying that only "low-grade uranium" (probably low-enriched, natural, or depleted uranium) was involved in that incident.

[1] 2/3/99 - Anatolia (Ankara); in "Gendarme Teams Seize 5 Grams of Uranium, 4 Detained," FBIS Document FTS19990203000586.

[2] 2/3/99 - "Uranium was Smuggled Through Azerbaijan," AZADLYG (Baku), by Elkhan Shahinoglu, pp. 1, 3; in "No Comment by Azeri Security Ministry on Uranium Smuggling," FBIS Document FTS19990205000134.

[3] 2/4/99 - IZVESTIYA, "Sled uranovoy kontrabandy vedet v Azerbaydzhan," by Gennadiy Charodeyev, available at http://win.www.online.ru.

[4] 2/5/99 - SABAH (Ankara edition), "Smugglers of Uranium," by Murat Savas, p. 3; in "Turkish Intelligence Units Arrest Uranium Smugglers," FBIS Document FTS 19990209000117.

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1998

Doc. Code: 19980560
Bibliography: FBIS Document FTS19980907001060.
Headline: Eight Persons Caught Smuggling Nuclear Materials
Author:
Orig. Source: Anatolia (Ankara), 7 September 1998
Date: 7 September 1998

ABSTRACT:

The Istanbul Finance and Customs Department announced on 7 September 1998 that its agents had arrested eight people on suspicion of smuggling nuclear materials from Russia. Following a "sting" operation in which Turkish undercover agents posed as potential buyers, police arrested the eight suspects and seized 4.5kg of "nonactive" solid uranium and 6g of "active" plutonium. Turkish officials said the materials could be used to make nuclear weapons, although they did not specify the level of enrichment of the seized uranium, and the use of the term "nonactive" suggests a low level of enrichment, if any. The nuclear materials were "encased in special protection" at the time they were confiscated, and have been sent to the Turkish Atomic Energy Institute's Nuclear Research and Training Center at Kucukcekmece for analysis. The police told journalists that the suspects-- three Kazakhstani citizens, one Azerbaijani citizen, and four Turkish citizens--had tried to sell the nuclear materials for $1 million. The report does not specify what evidence led the police to conclude that the material originated in Russia, and another report says that one of the suspects may have been a colonel in the Kazakhstani army.[1] When queried by a reporter for Izvestiya, the Russian Federal Security Service refused to comment on the case, saying only that the Russian and Turkish security services "cooperate actively in the fight against organized crime and illegal trafficking in nuclear materials."[2] In April 1999, an official from the Kazakhstani Ministry of National Security confirmed that this case did indeed involve a Kazakhstani citizen. The official added that the material involved in the case likely came from the Ulba Metallurgy Plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. He did not address the issue of whether the Kazakhstani citizen involved had formerly served in the Kazakhstani military, nor did he specify the type of material involved in the case.[3]

On 28 September 1998, Turkish Atomic Energy Authority president Cengiz Yalcin categorically denied news reports that plutonium had been seized in Turkey in September 1998.[4] Yalcin said that Turkish law enforcement authorities had confiscated "low-grade uranium" (probably a reference to low-enriched, natural, or depleted uranium) in September 1998, but no plutonium.[4]  Some earlier press reports had claimed that Turkish police confiscated up to 20kg of "unprocessed uranium" and up to 10kg of plutonium from suspected smugglers in September 1998.[4]  However, Yalcin insisted that "no plutonium or high-enriched uranium (HEU) has ever been found in Turkey."[4]

[1] "Turkish Police Arrest Uranium Smugglers," BBC World News, 7 September 1998, in http://news.bbc.co.uk

[2] Gennadiy Charodeyev, "Moscow Accused of Nuclear Smuggling," Izvestiya, 10 September 1998; in "FSB Refuses to Comment on Arrest of Nuclear Smugglers," FBIS Document FTS19980911000263.

[3] NISNP Discussions with Artur Galishev, an official at the Kazakhstani Ministry of National Security, 9 April 1999.

[4] Mark Hibbs, "Turkey Denies Plutonium Find, IAEA Awaits Report," Nuclearfuel, 19 October 1998.

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Doc. Code: 19980470
Bibliography: FBIS-TAC-98-182.
Headline: Security Teams Seize Smuggled Nuclear Material; Six Captured
Author:
Orig. Source: Anatolia (Ankara), 3 July 1998
Date: 3 July 1998

Abstract:

The Turkish Anatolia news agency reported on 1 July 1998 that agents of the Turkish Security Directorate in the city of Van had arrested six suspects, including one Iranian citizen, after receiving an anonymous tip about smugglers who were seeking a purchaser for nuclear materials. When apprehended, the six smugglers were in possession of a glass tube containing an unidentified "nuclear material" which was marked with three stars and a label "UPAT UKA 3 M8."  The police arrested six people: Siracettin Acar, Alaaddin Deryalar, Nadir Ertunc, Kerem Alici, Mehmet Selim Bore, and Mohammad Hossein, an Iranian citizen.[1] Acar had been carrying one of the tubes when he was arrested.[1] The 12 additional tubes were discovered at Bore's house.[1] According to the report, Turkish officials believe that the tubes contain "nuclear materials used making bombs." The material has been sent to a Turkish laboratory for analysis. According to a Security Directorate spokesman, the suspects have confessed that they were to receive $1,000 per tube for delivering the material to Istanbul. During their interrogation, however, the suspects insisted that the substance inside the glass tubes was snake venom, and not nuclear material. An investigation into the source of the suspected nuclear material and how it was smuggled into Turkey is underway. The BBC reported that the six suspects had been apprehended after bringing the material over the border into Turkey from Iran.[2] According to a report in IZVESTIYA on 3 July 1998, sources at the Russian Embassy in Ankara confirmed that none of the suspects were Russian. Officials from the Russian Federal Security Service told IZVESTIYA that they do not believe Turkey has any interest in acquiring nuclear materials covertly, and said the case indicated that Turkey may be a "transit zone" for nuclear smuggling to and from other countries. These Russian officials noted that Turkey is a well-known "corridor" for drug smuggling to Western Europe. They were quick to add, however, that Russia is in full compliance with its obligations under the 1968 Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and is not a source of illegal nuclear materials.[3]

[1] "Turkey Police to Check Suspected Nuclear Material," Reuters, 2 July 1998

[2] "Turkish Police Seize `Nuclear' Material," BBC World News, 2 July 1998, in http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_124000/124849.stm

[3] Gennadiy Charodeyev, "V Turtsii arestovali yadernykh kontrabandistov," Izvestiya, 3 July 1998 .

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1997

Doc. Code: 19970345
Bibliography: FBIS-WEU-96-146
Headline: Police Seizes 850 Grams Of Uranium Dioxide In Bursa
Author:
Orig. Source: TRT Television Network, 26 May 1997
Date: 26 May 1997

ABSTRACT:

According to the Turkish Security Directorate, security forces in Bursa, Turkey, arrested four individuals for attempting to sell 850 grams of uranium dioxide. The arrests were the culmination of a sting operation in which Turkish policemen disguised themselves as potential buyers of the uranium dioxide. Security forces seized the entire amount of the material in question. Trade in uranium dioxide, a source of fuel for nuclear reactors, is regulated by the Turkish Nuclear Energy Institute.

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Doc. Code: 19970170
Bibliography: Reuters
Headline: Turk Police Arrest Three For Smuggling Heavy Metal
Author:
Orig. Source:
Date: 1 April 1997

ABSTRACT:

Turkish police report that they arrested three men for smuggling osmium from Romania. The police caught the three suspects in a sting operation after agreeing to purchase the material for $500,000. They then met the suspects in an Istanbul tea shop and arrested them.

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Doc. Code : 19492
Bibliography: Sabah (Istanbul), 5 March 1997, <http://www.sabah.com>
Headline : 509 Grams of Raw Uranium Seized
Orig. Source:
Date : 5 March 1997

ABSTRACT:

On 4 March 1997, Veli Yavuz, a Turkish national, was arrested by an undercover policeman in Ipsala Edirne, Turkey, with 509g of uranium ore, worth about $800,000. Two other men, Ibrahim Gundogdu and Mehmet Erturk were arrested in Ankara on related charges. When questioned by police, Erturk said that he had bought the uranium in Georgia, from a man named "Ilyas." According to sources from Turkeys Cekmece Nuclear Research Center, the weight and type of uranium is of no strategic importance, and that it was unprocessed.

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1996

Doc. Code: 19960450
Bibliography: Turkish News List, Internet News Group
Headline:
Author:
Orig. Source:
Date: 10 March 1996

ABSTRACT:

In Antalya, 17 grams of LEU were seized and 11 people were arrested by local police. The smugglers reportedly were part of an organized nuclear material smuggling ring and had obtained the material from the town of Golcuk in the Kocaeli province in Turkey.

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Doc. Code : 15476
Bibliography: Byulleten' Tsentra Obshchestvennoy Informatsii Po Atomnoy Energii, No. 6, 1996, p. 79
Headline : 20 Kg Of Uranium Confiscated In Turkey
Orig. Source: Info-Tass, 7 March 1996
Date : 1 January 1996

ABSTRACT:

On 7 March 1996, it was reported that Turkish police arrested five Turkish nationals attempting to sell 20 kg of smuggled uranium for 7 million DM in Antalya, Turkey; Turkish authorities suspect that the two special containers of uranium were illegally brought from Russia. During the past three years, Turkish police have registered more than 20 attempts to smuggle nuclear materials from Russia.

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Doc. Code: 19960811
Bibliography: FBIS-TAC-96-007
Headline: The Amigos of the Nuclear Mafia
Author: Josef Hufelschulte
Orig. Source: Focus, 6 April 1996, pp.39-42
Date: 6 April 1996

ABSTRACT:

Recently available police interrogation records show that 1.2 kilograms of uranium-235 recovered in a 26 January 1996 raid in Yalova, Turkey were bound for Libyan buyers. Haydar Akhan, arrested in Zurich on 22 January 1996 with a 12 gram sample of U-235 on his person, intended to sell the 1.2 kg for $1.5 million to purchasers in Libya, according to two of his accomplices, Osman Oruc and Mehmet Ozturk. Allegedly, Oruc and Ozturk traveled to Georgia in 1994 where they bought the cache for $100,000. The seller of the material is said to be called Taraci, the security chief of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze. Akhan received a 12 gram sample of the U-235 at the Antik Madrit Hotel in Istanbul on 1 January 1996 and was arrested before he could complete the deal.  Another suspect, Ahmet Dursun Yalcinkaya, questioned in Konya, Turkey on 26 January 1996, claims to have met with Taraci in Batumi, Turkey in early October 1995 to negotiate a separate sale of 3 kg of U-235 for $200,000. On 18 April 1996, press secretary to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze Vakhtang Abashidze denied media allegations that President Shevardnadze's chief security service officer was involved in a plot to sell uranium-235 to Turkish buyers in Batumi for sale to the Middle East in October 1995.[1] Yalcinkaya reports being taken to the town of Kasuvri, Turkey, where he was given a videotape showing the uranium container. It is unclear whether this second deal went ahead; the 3 kg allegedly have been stored somewhere in Turkey. [See also Izvestiya, "Novy Sled Sovetskogo Urana V Germanii: Na Etot Raz On Tyanetsya Iz Batumi," by Boris Lysenko, p. 3, 17 April 1996.]

[1] "Presidential Guard Chief Not Involved In Nuclear Smuggling," Segodnya, 19 April 1996, p.8; Available from FBIS-SOV-96-079, 19 April 1996

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1995

Doc. Code: 19951100
Bibliography: Reuters
Headline: Romania Police Seize 'Red Mercury'
Author:
Orig. Source:
Date: 24 May 1995

ABSTRACT:

Romanian police arrested three Romanians and two Turks attempting to smuggle 1.7 kg of "red mercury" and 1 kg of what police referred to as "black mercury" out of the Romanian port of Constanta and into Turkey. The "red mercury" was to have been sold in Turkey for $150,000. Reportedly, Romanian police have made several seizures of uranium smuggled from neighboring Ukraine in the last few years.

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1994

Doc. Code : 12024
Bibliography: Executive News Service, 20 October 1994
Headline : Azeri Detained In Turkey With Uranium For Sale
Orig. Source: Reuters, 20 October 1994
Date : 20 October 1994

ABSTRACT:

On 20 October 1994, Turkish police told the Anatolia agency that on 19 October 1994 they arrested an Azerbaijani who, after crossing the Armenian border with Turkey, passed through the Turkish town of Igdir and tried to sell 750 g of enriched uranium in Istanbul for $60,000. According to an official at the Istanbul Atomic Energy Nuclear Investigation Center, the uranium was of weapons-grade quality.[1] The Azeri citizen was Ramiz Shakhgeldiyev, who stated that he had bought the uranium in Baku.[1] [See also RFE/RL Daily Report, No. 201, 21 October 1994; Zerkalo, 22 October 1994, "Azeri Arrested For Plutonium Smuggling," p. 2.]

[1] "V Turtsii arestovana partiya urana," Segodnya, 21 October 1994, p. 1.

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Doc. Code: 19940770
Bibliography: Reuters
Headline: Seven Detained in Turkey With Uranium Haul
Author:
Orig. Source:
Date: 22 July 1994

ABSTRACT:

Turkish police have detained seven Turkish suspects and confiscated 12 kilos (26.45 pounds) of uranium, having a total value of about $853 million, according to officials from the Istanbul office in charge of financial crimes. The uranium reportedly was smuggled into Turkey from an unidentified country in the former Soviet Union.

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Doc. Code: 19940350
Bibliography: Reuters
Headline: Turks Detain Three People For Uranium Smuggling
Author:
Orig. Source:
Date: 22 April 1994

ABSTRACT:

Turkish police arrested an Azeri, a Turk, and another man at the Istanbul Airport for attempting to smuggle a substance believed to be uranium. Turkish security discovered the substance in two steel containers in their luggage as they boarded a flight to Russia.

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1993

Doc. Code : 10645
Bibliography: JPRS-TND-93-001, 6 January 1994, p. 33
Headline : Uranium-Smuggling Incidents Reported: 3 Georgians Arrested
Orig. Source: Anatolia (Ankara), 27 November 1993
Date : 6 January 1994

ABSTRACT:

Police in Bursa, Turkey arrested three Georgians who were carrying 4.5 kg of uranium apparently destined to be used in the production of nuclear weapons. The smugglers were arrested after a tip was given to the police, who then contacted the sellers posing as buyers. The smugglers were asking for $150,000 per kg of uranium. Where the uranium came from and how the Georgians acquired it is uncertain. Turkey's Atomic Energy Institute now has the uranium for further examination.

[1] Reuters, 27 November 1993, "Suspected Georgian Uranium Hawkers Held in Turkey"; in Executive News Service, 30 November 1993.

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Doc. Code : 14727
Bibliography: Executive News Service, 7 October 1993
Headline : Iranians Were Buying Low-Grade Uranium, Turks Say
Orig. Source: Reuters, 6 October 1993
Date : 7 October 1993

ABSTRACT:

On 5 October 1993, Turkish police arrested eight people, including four Iranians, in Istanbul for allegedly trying to purchase 2.5 kg of Russian uranium from a Turkish professor.  Turkish Professor Pinar Bakir admitted during interrogations that 2.5 kilograms of uranium-238 confiscated was smuggled from Hartenholm to Turkey aboard a Cessna aircraft.[1].  However, there is still no clear evidence linking Hartenholm to the smuggling.[1]  According to Salih Gungor, head of the Istanbul police anti-smuggling department, Russian "visitors" transported the uranium to Turkey, where they sold it to Turkish nationals. The police are trying to determine whether the four Iranians--Davut Ahmedi, Muhammed Saydi, Hussein Sehrabi, and Serdar--are connected to the Iranian secret service. An official at Iran's embassy in Istanbul responded to the allegations, saying "the Iranian state has absolutely nothing to do with this incident."[2] On 6 October 1993, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Aladdin Borujerdi informed Turkey's ambassador in Tehran, Korumaz Haktanir, that the allegations were an attempt to harm Iranian-Turkish relations.[3] It was reported that the 2.5 kg of uranium was to be sold for $40,000 per g. The uranium, analyzed at the Buyukcekmece Nuclear Research Center near Istanbul, was determined to be enriched to 2.5-3.5 percent. Deputy Head of the Cekmeci Nuclear Research Center Erol Balikcigil announced that the smuggled material was low-enriched and could not be used in nuclear weapon manufacture.[4]  Fortuna Textile Products Import Export Trade and Industry Limited Company of Turkey issued a statement denying that Bulent Ozsoy, one of those accused in the smuggling case, is affiliated with the firm.[5]  [See also, Reuters, 7 October 1993; in Executive News Service, 7 October 1993, "Iran Denies Trying To Buy Uranium In Turkey;" John Hassard, 15 October 1993, European Energy Report, p. 16, "Iranian Uranium Conundrum;" Guardian, 7 October 1993, "Uranium 'Bound For Iran' Seized;" Anatolia (Ankara), 6 October 1993; in JPRS-TND-93-034, 27 October 1993, "Iran Attempts To Obtain Enriched Uranium;" Reuters, 5 October 1993; in Executive News Service, 7 October 1993, "Police Seize Uranium, Detain Eight In Turkey;" and Deutsche Presse Agentur, 7 October 1993, "Turkish Security Forces Arrest Iranian Uranium Smugglers;" Proliferation Issues, 17 November 1993, "Fifth Iranian Said Involved in Smuggling;" original source: Milliyet (Istanbul), 8 October 1993, p. 22; Proliferation Issues, 17 November 1993, "Name Similarity in Uranium Incident;" original source: Milliyet (Istanbul), 8 October 1993, p. 26; Proliferation Issues, 17 November 1993, "Four Arrested Iranians Named;" original source: Milliyet (Istanbul), 6 October 1993, pp. 1, 25.]

[1] "Take-Off Permit for Nuclear Smugglers," Focus, 15 May 1995, p. 12.

[2] Ilhan Tinci, Turkiye (Istanbul), 7 October 1993, p. 7; in JPRS-TND-93-034, 27 October 1993, p. 47, "Iranian Embassy Official Denies Link In Uranium Trade."

[3] Irna (Tehran), 6 October 1993; in JPRS-TND-93-034, 27 October 1993, p. 4, "Borujerdi Reacts To Turkish Reports On Uranium Transfer."

[4] Proliferation Issues, 17 November 1993, "'Key Man' in Smuggling Operation Identified;" original source: Milliyet (Istanbul), 7 October 1993, p. 16.

[5] Proliferation Issues, 17 November 1993, "Background On Turkish Uranium Smuggler," p.42; original source Milliyet (Istanbul),by Meral Tamer, 9 October 1993, p.6.

<<>>

Doc. Code: 19960010
Bibliography: Scientific American, pp. 40-44
Headline: The Real Threat Of Nuclear Smuggling
Author: Phil Williams and Paul Woessner
Orig. Source:
Date: January 1996

ABSTRACT:

This article reviews known cases of nuclear smuggling and concludes that the threat of a rogue state acquiring enough nuclear materials to build a bomb is real. The authors believe that the threat of a nuclear mafia and nuclear terrorism are real. They reported that unauthorized attempts to enter Arzamas-16 doubled during 1995. In addition, they report that in March 1993 6 kg of uranium enriched to an unspecified amount was smuggled into Turkey through the Aralik border gate in Kars province. The material was reportedly taken from Tashkent to Grozny, and then from Georgia to Nakhivchevan and finally to Istanbul. Finally, it also reported that 2.5 kg of uranium-238 supposedly was smuggled in to Istanbul by four Turkish businessman and four suspected agents of Iran's secret service.

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* For sources and further details, see Sandi Arnold, "Factsheet on Reported Nuclear Trafficking Incidents Involving Turkey, 1993-1999," July 1999, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies.

This selection is based on Turkish-, Russian, and English-language open-source reports and information in the International Nuclear Proliferation Database and the Newly Independent States Nuclear Trafficking Database of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies.  Access to these is only available by subscription. For subscription information click here.

Sandi Arnold, July 1999.
© Center for Nonproliferation Studies,
Monterey Institute of International Studies

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