Mexican Judge Calls for Arrest of Suspects in Cobalt-60 Theft

GlobalPost reported that a federal judge in Mexico has ordered the arrest of five men suspected of stealing a cargo truck containing radioactive cobalt-60 last week. A sixth suspect, a 16-year-old boy, was detained by the police, but then let go due to his age.

Initially, word was that those involved in the theft would die from radiation exposure; however, as yet the men are all still alive, though they were admitted to the hospital with signs of radiation poisoning.

As quoted in the market news:

Under Mexican law, police are allowed to hold suspects in custody for up to 40 days without charge and continue interrogating them in the hopes of building a case against them.

Police allege four of the arrested men stole the vehicle at a highway truck stop on the northeastern edge of Mexico. A fifth man bought it from them. They were unaware of its dangerous contents.

The truck was transporting the cobalt-60 from a hospital in the border city of Tijuana, where it had been used to treat cancer, to a nuclear waste storage dump near Mexico City.

Click here to read the full GlobalPost report.