Man arrested after uranium seized at UK’s Heathrow Airport
- A ‘very small’ quantity of uranium was detected in a package that arrived at Heathrow Airport on December 29
- A man was arrested on suspicion of a terror offence on Saturday and was released on bail as part of the investigation
A man has been arrested as part of a British counterterrorism investigation after traces of uranium were seized at a London airport last month, police said on Sunday.
The radioactive material was found in a package at Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, on December 29.
Police arrested the man in his 60s in Cheshire, northwest England, under the UK’s Terrorism Act and he was released on bail until April.
“I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public,” said Commander Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
“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 with our partners to detect this type of material.”
He said the investigation was ongoing.