KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 15

Police arrested eight people from Bouddha area of Kathmandu on the suspicion of smuggling around three kilograms of uranium, a radioactive element.

A high-level police source said the Special Police Force, along with Metropolitan Police Circle, Boudha, acting upon a tip-off, arrested them from the premises of Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bouddha.

The police said a 'uranium-like' substance was found inside a Hyundai car at the parking lot of Hyatt Hotel. The extremely expensive material, which is used as nuclear fuel to generate electricity was carefully packed inside a black leather bag and hidden beneath the seat of the car.

'We had received a information that the accused smugglers were searching for buyers of the uranium they had with them,' said the source. It is also learnt that the police have sent the material to National Academy of Science and Technology to further verify the material.

However, police have not made any official statement about the operation, as they are awaiting results from NAST about the confiscated material.

'All the details of the operation will be made public after the police complete their investigation,' said SP Dinesh Raj Mainali of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range.

Among the other arrested are Gopilal Das from Laxmipur Patri Rural Municipality of Siraha currently residing in Thamel, Ram Krishna Lamichhane of Sindhupalchowk, Helambhu, currently residing in Bouddha, Bhupendra Khadka of Kapan in Kathmandu, Nawaraj Mahat of Lalitpur, Jibach Narayan Yadav of Siraha, now residing in Thamel, and Surendra Prasad Chaudhary of Mahottari currently residing in Gokarneshwor, Kathmandu.

THT could not verify the identity of two persons, one of whom is said to be an Indian national.

Similarly, of the arrested, Nawaraj Mahat, a local resident of Lalitpur, is said to be a cadre of the ruling Nepali Congress.

A similar incident had come to light on 12 March 2021 after police were able to seize two-anda-half kilograms of uranium worth Rs 1.5 billion. Later, the NAST had confirmed that the material was a raw form of uranium that had plenty of radioactivity in it like that of original ore of uranium.

The uranium, which is confiscated today is uranium 238. Uranium 238 is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature.

Uranium 238 can be processed into the finer form of uranium called 'uranium 235' after going through multiple sophisticated procedures. However, the possibility of transforming uranium 238 into refined uranium-235 is very unlikely in Nepal.

The uranium 235 is mostly used in nuclear weapons and to produce electricity.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.