Guardian.co.uk – The Armenian national security service said Garik Dadayan, who served several months in 2005 for a previous attempt to smuggle highly enriched uranium, had been arrested after information from Georgian investigators. Two Armenians, Hrant Ohanyan and Sumbat Tonoyan told Georgian investigators they had been given the weapons-grade uranium by Dadayan, a petty trader and an acquaintance of Ohanyan’s. Dadayan was caught in 2003, when the 200 grams of weapons grade uranium he was carrying triggered a radiation sensor at the Armenian-Georgian border. He bribed his way out of detention but was later arrested by Armenian authorities. He only served a few months of a two and half year sentence.
Georgian investigators told the Guardian they suspect Dadayan was allowed to keep some of his stash by the Georgian border guards that he paid off in 2003, and that he supplied this remnant to Ohanyan and Tonoyan, hoping they could find a buyer. The Armenian smugglers were asking $50,000 a gram for their sample and were offering more if the sale was successful.
