Latin America:

Venezuelan Police Find Stolen Radioactive Cesium-137
09 January 2006

REUTERS (VENEZUELA)—Venezuelan police recovered stolen equipment containing radioactive Cesium-137 in the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzaotegui (Pictured). The Venezuelan Energy Ministry dispatched to collect the unit. No contamination was apparent, and officials made no arrests. Thieves stole the device, used in oil prospecting, in December 2005 in the same state. The Cesium-137’s disappearance followed the December 2005 arrests of three police officers connected to the theft of a truck carrying radioactive Iridium-192, also used in the oil industry. Two other Iridium-192 capsules disappeared in March 2005 in two separate incidents. Both were recovered – one in Lake Maracaibo, the other in western Venezuela.

Source Reliability: 7.0

Comment: The Iridium-192 capsule stolen aboard a truck on Tuesday December 19, 2005, was recovered in the Venezuelan city of Yaritagua in Yaracuy State. Radioactive Cesium-137 and Iridium-192 are viable options for use in a “dirty bomb” via exposure to a populace through a food chain or water table.