ISTANBUL, Nov 7: Paramilitary police in Istanbul have seized about a kilogram of weapons-grade uranium and detained two Turks who attempted to sell the substance to undercover agents, a security official told AFP on Wednesday.

The two men told police they had bought the 1.022 grams (2.2 pounds) of uranium of a quality suitable for making nuclear weapons, in Istanbul from a Russian man of Azeri origin several months ago, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The detentions came just a day after US President George W. Bush warned leaders from central and eastern Europe that the al-Qaeda network of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden were seeking to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

The seizure in Istanbul took place on Tuesday as undercover agents arranged a final meeting with the peddlers, with whom they had been in contact for a month, said the official, who declined to be named.

The two men agreed to sell the uranium for 750,000 dollars (831,000 euros).

“They were barely aware of what they were selling. They only knew that it was a very expensive substance and wanted to make money,” he said.

The official said that ahead of the operation, they had taken a small sample from the peddlers and a subsequent examination at a nuclear research center established that the substance was a grade of uranium that could be used in the making of nuclear weapons.

Police have often seized illicit substances, including nuclear materials, in Istanbul, a hub of criminal activity located at the meeting point between Asia and Europe.—AFP