Linkages Between Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups in Nuclear Smuggling: A Case Study of Chelyabinsk Oblast

An analysis of the cities in Russia’s Chelyabinsk oblast where weapons of mass destruction are researched and produced reveals that there are increasing threats that terrorist groups could use existing criminal networks and corruption to steal nuclear material. Such facilities exist in areas known as “closed cities” because of the increased security and access limitations that apply to them. Earlier analyses of nuclear smuggling, or those that have not focused on the specifics of the criminal and terrorism threat, have not paid enough attention to these linkages. Unfortunately, as the threats increase, state capacity to address these problems is declining. […]

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