Radioactive metal found in Iranian’s bag

Russia’s customs agency has seized radioactive metal from the luggage of an Iranian passenger bound for Tehran.

A spokeswoman said the luggage had been seized some time ago and the passenger had not been detained. The Federal Customs Service said it found 18 pieces of metal at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after a radiation alert, with gauges showing radiation levels 20 times higher than normal.

The pieces contained sodium-22, an isotope that has medical uses. Prosecutors have launched a probe into the incident, adding it was not immediately clear if the substance could have any use in Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

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