🇷🇺 Customs officers at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg discovered a batch of radioactive metals in the luggage of a passenger who arrived from Africa.
The cargo of the 43-year-old foreign citizen contained 450 grams of radioactive minerals. The discovery was made thanks to the "Amber" radiation control system.
Further investigation using a portable radiometer-spectrometer showed that the radiation level was several times higher than the established norms.
The man told customs officials that he was studying at a university in St. Petersburg and had brought the mineral samples to work on his final project.
The information was transferred to Rospotrebnadzor (the federal service for monitoring the protection of consumer rights and human welfare). The investigation confirmed the presence of the radioactive isotope radium-226 in the minerals. The gamma radiation dose rate on the packaging surface was 8.19 μSv/h.
An administrative case was opened according to Article 16.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for violation of prohibitions and restrictions established on the import of goods. This article establishes a fine, with the possibility of confiscation of the objects in violation.