Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 26, 1994 TAG: 9405260091
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Knight-Ridder/Tribune and The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON NOTE: ABOVE LENGTH: Medium
FBI Director Louis Freeh, commenting on reports of thefts of uranium and other nuclear fuel, said he was ``gravely concerned Russian organized crime members may have already attained or will attain the capacity to steal nuclear weapons or weapons-grade nuclear materials.''
Freeh told the Senate investigations subcommittee that none of the reported thefts and attempted sales of nuclear materials in Europe and Russia has involved weapons-grade nuclear materials, yet.
``The time to move against such threats is now, not after an incident of mass destruction in our country,'' Freeh said. His unusually blunt warnings prefaced his announcement that the FBI will soon open its first office in Moscow.
As part of an effort to cooperate with a country long regarded as the FBI's principal nemesis, Freeh said he is willing to begin FBI training of Russian policemen in techniques of fighting organized crime. He also plans to establish a joint intelligence database and install secure communication links to exchange leads on organized crime groups.
Freeh testified that tentacles of the ``organizatsiya,'' the Russian mafia, have reached beyond its borders to form alliances-for-profit with the Colombian cocaine cartels, the Sicilian ``Cosa Nostra,'' the Chinese triads and Japanese ``yakuza,'' as well as the American mob.
Apart from old standbys such as drug-running, prostitution and extortion, the Russian gangs have added illegal arms sales, money laundering and financial frauds such as gasoline excise-tax scams. Russian gangs also have provided contract killers who perform ``hits'' in other countries.
According to Freeh, Russian emigre gangs working with La Cosa Nostra have been able to control the sale of more than 50 million gallons of gasoline per month in the United States. Using dummy corporations, the gangs have been able to siphon off excise tax revenue estimated at $1 billion annually.
Lending support to Freeh's contentions were counterparts from Russian and German law enforcement: First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail K. Yegorov and Hans-Ludwig Zachert, president of the German Bundeskriminalamt.
The impact of international organized crime in Germany is more than $1 billion per year, Zachert said. He said the crime cartels are well-structured and ``almost run like modern corporations.''
Zachert tactfully registered unease about security measures in Russia for guarding nuclear materials. The blocky Yegorov, wearing a military uniform, said security precautions at Russian defense facilities ``practically eliminate'' the chances of stealing weapons-grade fuel.
by CNB