The Ministry of the Interior announced that stolen radioactive material was recovered at 5 p.m. this afternoon in the State of Mexico, the day after two suspects were arrested in the case.
The material, which was identified as Iridium-192, was found on kilometer 5 on the Acambay-Temascalcingo highway in the municipality of Acambay.
It is considered safe to surrounding areas as long as it remains in secure packaging.
“It’s important to note that the radioactive material was found within its casing, and as such did not represent a risk to the town,” said a press release from the Ministry of the Interior’s National Coordination of Civil Protection office.
Yesterday Querétaro Attorney General Alejandro Echeverría confirmed the arrest of two individuals suspected to have taken the van from the municipality of San Juan del Río, with the radioactive material on board.
The van was property of Central Industrial Maintenance and was being used by QSA Global to transport the material.
Alarm was raised in 2013 when Iridium-192 was stolen in a van parked in Lancashire, Great Britain.
No motives have been announced in connection with the theft.
En el lugar @DelaCruzMusalem verifica, confirma el número de serie y asegura la #Fuente pic.twitter.com/AN4RydbpE1
— Luis Felipe Puente (@LUISFELIPE_P) March 9, 2016
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