U.S. authorities have charged a man from Sierra Leone with trying to broker a deal to sell yellowcake uranium to Iran.
Court documents say the 33-year-old man was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on August 21 after he flew in from Sierra Leone with a sample of the uranium hidden in the soles of shoes packed in his luggage.
The criminal complaint accuses him of planning to sell up to 1,000 tons of yellowcake uranium that he thought would be shipped to Iran.
Instead, he was involved in brokering the deal with undercover American agents.
The man could face up to 20 years in U.S. prison and a $1 million fine.
Enriched yellowcake uranium can be used to make nuclear fuel and weapons.
Court documents say the 33-year-old man was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on August 21 after he flew in from Sierra Leone with a sample of the uranium hidden in the soles of shoes packed in his luggage.
The criminal complaint accuses him of planning to sell up to 1,000 tons of yellowcake uranium that he thought would be shipped to Iran.
Instead, he was involved in brokering the deal with undercover American agents.
The man could face up to 20 years in U.S. prison and a $1 million fine.
Enriched yellowcake uranium can be used to make nuclear fuel and weapons.