The four were arrested on Friday in the coastal town of
Swakopmund, the drums have been recovered and the material is thought to have come
from Areva’s Trekkopje mine, they said.
Axel Tibinyane, regulator of the Atomic Energy Board of
Namibia, said the contents of the drums are radioactive.
“The next step is to confirm that the material is indeed
uranium oxide, but physical observation points in that direction. This will
also allow us to fingerprint the origin of the material,” Tibinyane told
Reuters.
The spokesperson in Namibia for the French nuclear firm
Areva, Sugnét Smit, told Reuters: “The situation is very sensitive. Tests have
been conducted to see if it concerns yellow cake or not. The results will be
released on Thursday.”
Areva’s Trekkopje is one of the few mines in Namibia that
has processing facilities for yellow cake — a form of uranium ore that can be
enriched for nuclear fuel or, if enriched to a much higher level, for use in
weapons.
The four suspects were expected to appear in court later on
Monday.
