Abstract:

A Ukrainian customs official discovered three tons of explosives and 229 kg of radioactive materials, including cobalt and cesium, during a routine inspection of an airplane in Lvov. The plane was en route to Baku, Azerbaijan from the Dutch city Maastricht and had stopped in Lvov to refuel. Reports indicated that the plane belonged to the Ukrainian national airline, but had been leased by either a British or a Dutch company. The explosives and radioactive materials had not been declared to the Dutch customs authorities in Maastricht. However, one report said that flight documents showed the explosives were to be used in an international oil project in Azerbaijan, while the radioactive materials were to be shipped to an unnamed third country. An Itar-Tass report claimed that the crew had a permit to transfer radium-226, cesium-137, and americum-261 to Baku, where another plane was scheduled to take the materials to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. [See also Lvov Infobank, 26 August 1996; in 'Ukraine: Radioactive Materials Found On Plane Headed For Baku,' FBIS-SOV-96-166, 26 August 1996; Itar-Tass (Moscow), 30 August 1996; in 'UK- Chartered Plane Carrying Nuclear Materials Still Detained,' FBIS-SOV-96-171, 30 August 1996.]

Abstract Number:  19961710
Headline:  Ukraine: Explosives Discovered On Plane En Route To Azerbaijan
Date:  28 August 1996
Bibliography:  FBIS-SOV-96-169, 28 August 1996
Orig. Src.:  HTV Television
Material:  radioactive materials