LONDON — A man has been arrested as part of a British counter-terrorism investigation after traces of uranium were seized at a London airport last month, police said 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.
British tabloid newspaper The Sun, which first reported the story, said the package originated in Pakistan and arrived in Britain on a flight from Oman. — AFP
