FIFA World Cup: Dirty bomb gang foiled in South Africa

[Steve19]

During the World Cup, South African security services have cast a 30km net around the FIFA venues. We noticed Navy corvettes (and submarines, apparently) patrolling near the Cape Town stadium during matches and again today. Security was especially high for the US-UK game. A friend living nearby Rustenburg claimed that anti-aircraft missiles and tanks had been deployed nearby.

Yesterday, a sting operation caught a gang attempting to sell nuclear material for a dirty bomb. The source of the Caesium-137 is unknown and the rest of the device has not yet been captured. The selling price was about $7 million.

An international police sting at a Pretoria petrol station has netted four men involved in the sale of a highly radioactive metal suspected to be destined for use in a dirty bomb.

The high-risk operation by the Hawks' specialised tactical unit was carried out yesterday.

Police recovered some Caesium-137 contained in a protective cover, but admitted they had yet to find a larger device, which was set to be sold on the black market for R45 million.

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[localyokel]

Sounds like a movie plot. Stay safe.

 

[Oh8ch]

The folks who do this stuff are generally easy to catch.

The people who catch them are generally pretty good at their jobs.

That said, tick, tick, tick ......