Four attempts by Russian-linked gangs in Moldova to sell nuclear material have been thwarted by the authorities and the FBI over the past five years, according to an Associated Press investigation.

The most recent case was in February when undercover agents were offered a large amount of radioactive caesium from a smuggler who specifically sought a buyer from Islamic State, the report said.

The cases involved informants and an undercover police officer posing as a connected gangster complete with a Mercedes Benz provided by the FBI.



Despite being arrested, the alleged kingpins got away with short prison sentences and in some cases have resumed nuclear smuggling, AP found.



The material involved is believed to come from Russian hospitals and so far there has been no sign of significant quantities of more deadly fissile material being sold in the Moldovan nuclear black market.



Case files shared by the Moldovan authorities reveal smugglers have been trying to exploit a breakdown in cooperation between Russia and the west.



“We can expect more of these cases,” said Constantin Malic, a Moldovan police officer who investigated all four cases. “As long as the smugglers think they can make big money without getting caught, they will keep doing it.”

The files exposed a pattern in the way the cases were handled suggesting a vulnerability in the anti-smuggling strategy. In all four cases, the authorities arrested suspects in the early stages of a deal, giving the ringleaders a chance to escape with their nuclear contraband.

The most serious case began in the spring of 2011, with the investigation of a group led by a Russian named Alexandr Agheenco, “the colonel” to his cohorts, whom Moldovan authorities believe to be an officer with the Russian FSB.

A middle man working for the colonel was recorded arranging the sale of bomb-grade uranium, U-235, and blueprints for a dirty bomb to a man from Sudan, according to several officials.

When the colonel got away the the police could not say whether he had more nuclear material. His partner, who wanted to “annihilate America”, is out of prison.