Police probe into missing radioactive dispersal device ongoing, says IGP

KUALA LUMPUR: Investigations over a 23kg Radioactive Dispersal Device (RDD) that went missing from the back of a pick-up truck earlier this month are ongoing, says the country’s top cop.
 
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun confirmed that the two people who were remanded over the case have been released.
 
"We are still unsure about how the device went missing. There have been allegations that it was lost accidentally because the vehicle's boot was open.
 
"However, no parties have found the device, so we have to conduct further investigations," he said after officiating an anti-Aedes campaign on Monday (Aug 21).
 
When asked, the IGP said that the police had faced a similar incident last year as well. However, he did not divulge details.
 
An English daily reported that the RDD is an industrial radiography device that contains the radioactive isotope Iridium-192.
 
Iridium-192 emits beta and gamma radiation as it decays during its estimated half-life of 73 days.

It is learnt that the device has a market value of about RM75,000.

The company that owned the RDD – which weighed 23kg, and consisted of a large metal tube with a handle on top – reportedly used it to detect cracks in metal as part of inspection protocols in the energy, power and transportation sectors.
 
It was lost while being transported to the company’s office from Seremban.
 
Police initially detained two technicians who had been transporting the device.

The duo, after completing their task, reportedly loaded the device onto the back of their pick-up truck and left for their office in Shah Alam at 2am.
 
The device was missing when they arrived an hour later. The duo claimed they did not stop on their journey back, and feared that it could have fallen off their truck.