Stringer / Reuters
An AP investigation revealed on Tuesday that gangs with suspected Russian connections have explicitly targeted selling radioactive material to extremists in the Middle East, including ISIS. The report uncovered four instances in the last five years when criminal networks, with suspected Russian ties, allegedly tried to sell nuclear material to extremists through Moldova. One investigation found an attempt to sell bomb-grade uranium and blueprints for a dirty bomb to a Middle East buyer, the AP reports, citing Moldovan police and judicial authorities. The FBI reportedly partnered with a small group of Moldovan investigators to conduct the sting operations that penetrated the smuggling networks, using police and informants posing as connected gangsters. The FBI and the White House declined to comment.