BERLIN, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - German investigators are considering the possibility that polonium-210 was smuggled through the country and might be connected to the radioactive poisoning of a Russian security service defector in London.
A former FSB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, died November 23 in a London hospital. Dmitry Kovtun, his former colleague turned businessman, met with Litvinenko in the British capital shortly before he fell ill, and was himself later diagnosed with radioactive poisoning.
"Alongside several other versions behind this crime, we are seriously considering the possibility that Litvinenko's death could have been connected to the illegal trade in nuclear materials," a police source told the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung, adding that no clear evidence had been uncovered yet.
Police in Hamburg launched an investigation into Kovtun after traces of radiation were detected at several sites he visited between October 28 and November 1, including at his ex-wife's apartment. German investigators suspect Kovtun, who has a German residence permit, of illegally transporting nuclear materials.
In Russia, Kovtun is being treated as a witness in the case of Litvinenko, an FSB defector and outspoken Kremlin critic with ties to exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Berliner Zeitung quoted experts among German law enforcement officials as estimating that the dose of polonium-210 believed to have caused Litvinenko's death was worth about $25 million.
The German newspaper referred to speculation in the Russian press that Litvinenko could have been involved in plans by Chechen separatists to create a "dirty bomb" with the help of depleted radioactive materials. The reports said polonium-210 could have been transported illegally to London for the purpose.
"We know that there has been a demand for nuclear materials in terrorist circles for several years," the newspaper's police source said, adding that Litvinenko's partners could have been involved in smuggling schemes.
"So we are carefully watching these circles now," the source said, noting, however, that no offers for polonium-210 had been tracked so far on the black market because the substance was too expensive.
Interpol said Tuesday it would join British and Russian investigators studying various scenarios in Litvinenko's death.
