LONDON: A man has been arrested as part of an investigation linked to the discovery of traces of deadly uranium within a cargo package at Heathrow airport which was flown to the UK on a passenger plane from Oman but originated in Pakistan.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were contacted by Border Force colleagues at Heathrow after the cargo package containing scrap metal was found to be contaminated with a very small amount of uranium during routine screening on December 29, 2022.
On Saturday counter-terrorism officers attended an address in Cheshire. A man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 9 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which refers to making or possessing a radioactive or nuclear bomb for terrorism purposes.
He was taken to a police station and released on bail until a date in April.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place to detect this type of material. Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public. To this end, we are following every possible line of enquiry available to us, which has led us to making this arrest.”
Last week the Pakistan government denied the package originated in their country, saying it had not received any official information to this effect from the British authorities.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were contacted by Border Force colleagues at Heathrow after the cargo package containing scrap metal was found to be contaminated with a very small amount of uranium during routine screening on December 29, 2022.
On Saturday counter-terrorism officers attended an address in Cheshire. A man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 9 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which refers to making or possessing a radioactive or nuclear bomb for terrorism purposes.
He was taken to a police station and released on bail until a date in April.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place to detect this type of material. Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public. To this end, we are following every possible line of enquiry available to us, which has led us to making this arrest.”
Last week the Pakistan government denied the package originated in their country, saying it had not received any official information to this effect from the British authorities.
