A man has been arrested and released on bail in connection with the discovery of uranium traces in a cargo package at Heathrow Airport on December 29, 2022. “The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly concerning,” said Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command. “Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public. To that end, we are investigating every possible avenue of inquiry, which has led us to make this arrest over the weekend. “I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public. However, detectives are continuing their investigations to ensure that this is the case.” Border Force colleagues at Heathrow contacted officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command after a cargo package containing scrap metal was discovered to be contaminated with a trace amount of uranium. It was discovered during a routine screening on December 29, 2022. Officers from Cheshire Police and Counter Terrorism Police North West assisted officers at an address in Cheshire on Saturday, 14 January. A man in his sixties was arrested on suspicion of violating Section 9 of the Terrorism Act of 2006. He was taken to a police station in northwestern England and was released on bail today until an April date. Specialist officers also searched the same address where the man was arrested. The search is now complete, and no material that could endanger the public was discovered. Inquiries are still being conducted.
