Man Caught Trying to Sell Uranium to Iran by Hiding it in His Shoes at JFK

He's gettin' locked up.

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A dude at JFK screwed up big timeand none of us should feel the least bit sorry for him: Patrick Campbell, a 33-year-old from Sierra Leone, was stopped at JFK after he was found to be smuggling freaking uranium in his shoes. Let's let that sink in for a second. URANIUM. In his SHOES

In case you don't know, uranium is one of the ingredients to make a nuclear bomb, which is what Campbell knew it was probably going to be used for, since he thought he was selling it to Iran. Luckily, the whole thing was a sham because the Department of Homeland Security had been on his trail for the past 15 months, and the men Campbell thought he was selling the uranium to were actually undercover agents. The scary part: if this were real, Campbell was ready to fork over 1000 tons of yellowcake uranium. 

The uranium was found in the soles of two pairs of shoes (they were meant to be "test" samples), and he also carried a thumbdrive that had a contract for the sale and delivery of more uranium. Which is pretty nuts since uranium doesn't just grow in trees.

He'll be charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iranian Transaction Regulations. He faces 20 years in prison with a $1 million fine if convicted. Hope you kissed your family goodbye.  

[via Gothamist]

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