Beryllium Deal, Russian Mafia

In 1993, the Russian Mafia smuggled 4.4 tons of radioactive beryllium into the country.   The beryllium was mixed with radioactive uranium and Cesium, a few of the essential components for building nuclear weapons. The Russian mafia had a buy lined up in Austria to purchase the beryllium for 2.7 million dollars who had a buyer in Zurich willing to pay 24 million dollars. 

The path of the Beryllium

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1. Yekaterinburg: Early 1992. The beryllium deal originated in the Sverdlovsk region among trading firms with ties to organized crime.
2. Obninsk: March-April 1992. Relying on the phony purchase order, the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering agrees to sell the beryllium. The beryllium is moved by truck to Moscow.
3. Moscow: March-April 1992. Payment and receipt of the material is handled by Yuri Alexeyev, a suspected racketeer from Yekaterinburg, through his karate club. The beryllium is transported to Yekaterinburg.
4. Yekaterinburg: June 1992. The beryllium is flown to Lithuania.
5. Vilnius: May 1993. Responding to an anonymous tip, Lithuanian police seize the beryllium shipment from a local bank.
6. Klagenfurt and Brescia: Late 1993-early 1994. Investigators learn that the beryllium was to be bought, then sold again, by an Austrian-Italian consortium.
7. Zurich: Late 1993-early 1994. Interpol determines that a mysterious buyer was prepared to pay $ 24 million, about 10 times the market price for the beryllium shipment.
8. Vilnius: May 1994. Unable to prosecute, the Lithuanian government returns the shipment to the bank but prevents it from leaving the country..

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