Dirty bomb fears as 'several kilos of URANIUM' is found in cargo at Heathrow: Package 'shipped from Pakistan to UK-based Iranians' is at centre of Met Police anti-terror probe after being discovered when it triggered airport alarms

Dirty bomb fears as URANIUM is found in cargo at Heathrow

The package originated from Pakistan and was destined for an Iranian business with a premises…

Mail Online

Shipment of uranium has been seized at Heathrow airport, sparking terror fears
The undeclared material was discovered on December 29 on a passenger flight
It was destined for an Iranian business with a premises in the UK, sources say
The package originated from Pakistan and arrived on a flight via Oman

By DAVID BARRETT HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL and BRITTANY CHAIN FOR MAILONLINE

A major counter-terrorism investigation has been launched after several kilograms of uranium was seized at Heathrow airport.

The deadly nuclear material – which could potentially be used in a ‘dirty bomb’ – arrived on a flight from Oman, in the Middle East, on December 29.

The shipment was addressed to an Iranian-linked firm in the UK, it is understood.

Sources said the uranium was ‘not weapons-grade’ – and so could not be used to manufacture a thermo-nuclear weapon.

But the security services are understood to be investigating whether the undeclared package could have been destined for an improvised nuclear device, known as a ‘dirty bomb’.

Such a device – which has long been a nightmare scenario for counter-terror experts – combines conventional explosives with nuclear material to disperse a lethal radioactive plume.

The package originated in Pakistan before arriving at Heathrow’s Terminal Four aboard an Oman Air passenger jet from Muscat, sources told The Sun.