Portuguese police arrested a man suspected of involvement in smuggling highly enriched uranium (HEU), AFP reported on 11 July 2002. A 12 July 2002 report by AFP identified that suspect as 46 year-old evangelical pastor Leonel Ferreira.[1] He had been under surveillance since his name and phone number were found among the belongings of one of three men arrested in Paris in July 2001 for trying to sell HEU possibly smuggled out of the former Soviet Union.[1] Ferreira was arrested at the office of the church he founded in Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal.[1] Police had questioned him earlier in 2002, and suspect that the church that Ferreira ran was used to launder money involved in uranium smuggling.[1] The report also noted that Ferreira traveled frequently to Russia and Romania, as well as Latin America and Asia, where police believe he may have been in contact with possible buyers for uranium.[1] Ferreira will be held in custody until his trial, which has not yet been scheduled.[1] If convicted, he would face a one to eight year prison sentence.[1]
Headline: Portuguese Police Detain Suspected Uranium Smuggler
Date: 11 July 2002
Bibliography: Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, https://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
Orig. Src.: Agence France Presse, 11 July 2002
Case: Paris
Material: HEU
