Japanese authorities are investigating how a substance that appears to be uranium came to be offered for sale on an online auction site, an official said on Thursday.
Police are trying to confirm whether the product is radioactive, he said.
Local media reported that investigators have been questioning “a number of people” suspected of involvement in the sale and purchase of the purportedly radioactive substance.
An initial test of the confiscated powder found it to be radioactive, Kyodo News said.
The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority received a report about one year ago about what was being billed as “uranium” on a popular auction site operated by Yahoo Japan.
“We were asked: ‘Is it OK? How is it possible?’ We immediately called Yahoo, which then took down the product,” an agency official told reporters.
The case was referred to police, as the law requires special permits for transferring the ownership of uranium and other radioactive materials, he said.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on the matter. Officials at Yahoo Japan were not immediately available for comment.
Tokyo police have identified the seller and multiple men who successfully bid for the material online, and have taken them in for questioning on a voluntary basis, Kyodo News said.
Authorities have also asked the Japan Atomic Energy Agency to confirm whether the material is depleted uranium or uranium concentrate, it said.
The product was enclosed in a glass tube and put on sale under the name of “Uranium 99.9%” at a Yahoo online auction Web site, it added.
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