Man arrested for holding arms, nuclear material

In a joint investigation, Czech and German police have confiscated an array of arms, chemicals, military weapons and ammunition allegedly belonging to a German man, including a supply of uranium.

The 45-year-old German citizen with a Slovak background was arrested by police in the Czech village of Bělá nad Svitavou, near Pardubice, Oct. 7 for suspicious activities involving the sale of chemicals.

"We searched his house Oct. 8 and found a large amount of highly explosive substances, machine guns, various military arms and ammunition, along with nuclear material, uranium 238 and 235," said Markéta Janovská, spokeswoman for regional police. "Because of the nature of the chemicals, we had to call in firefighters as well as the State Office for Nuclear Safety to help with the confiscation."

Both uranium isotopes are naturally occurring and often used in scientific testing and for medical purposes but are not readily accessible to the general public. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima utilized uranium 235, albeit the highly enriched variety, which the minerals found in Bělá nad Svitavou were not.   

During interrogation in Bělá nad Svitavou, where the man lived with his 81-year-old mother, police learned that he also owned an apartment in the German city of Koblenz. Authorities in Rhineland-Palatinate were alerted, and a search warrant for the apartment was quickly issued.

"Some 50 police officers from our unit worked from Oct. 9 in the morning to late Oct. 10, searching the house and confiscating the find," said Helmut Zirfas, spokesman for the Koblenz police.

According to a press release issued by Koblenz Deputy State Prosecutor Hans-Peter Gandner, police found "a number of obscure chemicals, various types of ammunition, a detonator as well as parts of machine guns." Authorities emphasized the man has no discernable connections with far-right extremist groups. 

The suspect, who is trained in pyrotechnics, told Czech police that "chemistry has always been a hobby" for him. 

He is now being prosecuted in the Czech Republic for unauthorized possession of arms and ammunition and unauthorized production and possession of nuclear materials.

"At the moment, all we can say is that a number of different chemicals, military weapons and ammunition were found in his family home in the village of Bělá nad Svítavou, and that we are currently investigating the case," said Svitavy District State Attorney Jiří Horníček.

On the German side of the border, the man is charged with breach of the War Weapons Control Act and the Explosives Act.

"We collaborated with the German authorites from the beginning, and at the moment, the case is being investigated in both countries," Janovská said. "The man is currently under arrest in the Czech Republic, and the case will be prosecuted under Czech law."

If convicted, the suspect faces up to five years in prison.

Sarah Borufka can be reached at
sborufka@praguepost.com