Authorities in Thailand, acting on information from American investigators, seized a large amount of radioactive material from a Thai man, breaking up a plot to sell it to terrorists. He was peddling it for use in so-called dirty bombs, according to American law enforcement officials. American officials said the seized material — which Thai authorities said was cesium-137, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear power plants commonly found in medical equipment — was believed to have originated in Russian stockpiles and been taken to Thailand via Laos. It could easily have been used in terrorist weapons, the officials added. Law enforcement officials and terrorism experts said they were alarmed that so much of the material — as much as 66 pounds, according to initial reports — was apparently available for sale on the black market. Even a “dirty” bomb with only a few grams of cesium would be deadly, the experts said. It is particularly troubling that the material turned up in Thailand, which Al Qaeda has long used as a hub in Southeast Asia, they said. Full Story
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