Georgia's internal security service says it has arrested three Chinese citizens in the capital Tbilisi for attempting to illegally purchase two kilograms of "nuclear material" uranium.

Georgia's Interpress news agency cited the deputy head of Georgia's State Security Service as saying the three detainees had been planning to buy the uranium for $400,000 and transport it to China, via Russia.

The uranium was "nuclear material", it said, without elaborating on the motive for the planned purchase.

It quoted the security official as saying the detainees faced charges that could see them jailed for up to 10 years.

The security of nuclear materials left over from the Soviet era was one of the biggest concerns after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, of which Georgia was a member.

There have

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