VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJB #0689/01 3511043
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171043Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1898

UNCLAS BUJUMBURA 000689 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR ISN/WMDT AND PM/ISO/PMAT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC BY KCRM KNNP MNUC PARM PINR PTER
SUBJECT: NUCLEAR SMUGGLING INCIDENT/PORTAL DETECTION AT 
BUJUMBURA 
 
REF: A. STATE 030541 
     ¶B. BUJUMBURA 00302 
 
¶1. (SBU) Post wishes to alert the Department and Washington 
agencies per reference A that it has received a report 
indicating a potential incident of illicit trafficking in 
nuclear and/or radiological materials.  The report was 
generated by the Defense Attache (DATT) after a walk-in, 
Nawab Chakaar, offered to sell a canister of purported 
uranium to Post at 0915 on 17 December; the same walk-in was 
involved in a previous presentation of hoax material to the 
DATT in 2007.  The purported material and backstory fit the 
profile of the common "basket" hoax and Post does not believe 
the source to be credible. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Details of the incident follow: 
 
--------------- 
Location and Description of Material 
--------------- 
 
A)  The material is purportedly stationary, stored somewhere 
in Uvira, DRC, approximately 1-2 hours from Bujumbura. 
Source reports the material is in the hands of unnamed 
business associates; he claims there are layers of middle-men 
between the owners of the material and himself.  (NFI) 
B)  A plaque on the container identifies the contents as U238. 
C)  Source stated the material was previously verified 
radioactive by an unnamed Burundian geological official 
through use of a Geiger counter; source was unable to provide 
any evidence or report to back up this claim.  Post notes 
that in a previous "basket case," (reference B) Burundian 
officials claimed to have no means to detect radiation. 
D)  See (B) above. 
E)  The identifying plaque indicates 19 kgs of "raw weight" 
and 3 kgs of "net weight." 
F)  Source provided photos of the suspect container.  It is a 
cylindrical metal vessel with an orange/red domed top and an 
apparently locally-produced woven fiber carrier with handle; 
a plaque with identifying information on the cylinder is 
visible through an opening in the basket.  Post has provided 
PMAT scans of the photos via email. 
G)  The material is stationary. 
H)  The material is stationary. 
I)  There is no manifest. 
J)  The material's origins are unknown. 
 
---------------- 
Alarm and Detection Details 
---------------- 
 
K)  The report originates from the DATT following a walk-in. 
L)  The DATT's meeting with the walk-in occurred at the 
Chancery at 0915 local time on 17 December 2009. 
M)  There was no radiation alarm, and no other technical 
inspection of the material has taken place. 
N)  No spectral file is available. 
O)  Only the material, the canister, and the woven fiber 
carrier have been reported. 
P)  See (L) above. 
Q)  No radiation detector was used, and none are available to 
Post. 
 
--------------- 
Host Government Response 
--------------- 
 
R)  Source claims to have been in contact with the Burundian 
government concerning this item in the past, but does not 
claim to have any current dealings with them.  Post has not 
notified the host government, as the incident reported in 
reference B calls into question the host government's motives 
and ability to manage incidents of this type. 
S)  Unknown. 
T)  Not applicable. 
U)  Not applicable. 
V)  Post does not know who else might know about the material. 
W)  Not applicable. 
X)  Post does not know whether the IAEA has been alerted to 
the material's presence. 
Y)  There is no investigation at present. 
Z)  No criminal charges have been involved to Post's 
knowledge. 
 
-------------- 
Details on the individuals involved 
-------------- 
 
AA)  Individuals involved: 
 
-- DATT: LtCol Thomas Miller USAF, ( 257) 22 207 311; 
 
-- Walk-in: Nawab Chakaar, ( 257) 079939232 Burundi mobile, 
( 255) 763 444 999 Tanzania mobile, email 
nawabchakaar@yahoo.com.  Chakaar claims to be associated with 
a sub-contractor supporting Barak Gold mining in Tanzania, 
and with a tour company, Miombo Safaris 
(www.miombosafaris.com).  Post has provided photos of Chakaar 
to PMAT via email. 
 
BB)  Source claimed there were other businessmen involved 
with the material, but did not give any names or contact 
information aside from Dr. Salvator Kamanyero.  (See item 
(CC) below.) 
 
CC)  Source indicated he wished to establish a relationship 
with Post, stating he was willing to travel through the 
region to find other radiological items to sell to Post. 
Source presented the DATT with a letter vaguely outlining 
this proposal and referencing his earlier dealings with the 
previous DATT; this letter was attributed to "Nawab Bahram," 
not Nawab Chakaar, and also inluded the name "Dr. Salvator 
Kamanyero (Africa Relief Agency)."  The letter had no 
signatures.  A scan of the letter has been provided to PMAT 
via email. 
 
DD)  Source did not claim associations with any other groups, 
and stated he did not wish the material to fall into the 
hands of terrorists or a corrupt government.  Source stated 
he had contacted the US Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam concerning 
the material, and that the Pentagon was interested in the 
material as well, but that transportation was a problem, so 
he decided to contact Post due to its proximity to the 
material.  Post will follow up with Dar-es-Salaam and update 
PMAT via email. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Action officer at Post for handling incident is DATT 
LtCol Thomas Miller, at IVG 472-7311. 
Slutz