Alexander Litvinenko Assassination Theories - Polonium Smuggling and Careless Handling Theory

Polonium Smuggling and Careless Handling Theory

Polonium is an important element in nuclear weapons triggers, and thus, smuggling of Polonium would presumably be a very lucrative activity for an ex-spy who is believed to have been facing serious economic difficulties as his erstwhile employer and sponsor, Boris Berezovsky, was increasingly disinclined to provide further funding.

According to The Independent, Litvinenko told the Italian academic he met on the day he fell ill that he had organised the smuggling of nuclear material out of Russia, for his security service employers, to Zurich, Switzerland in 2000. Though no mention is made in the allegations of the specific nature of the nuclear material.

Mary Dejevsky wrote that her explanation of Litvinenko's death was the careless handling of radioactive material. Dejevsky wrote that "no one in Britain," including Litvinenko's widow, has seen the documents Britain sent to Moscow in support of Lugovoy's extradition request.

The Russian lower house MP Andrei Lugovoi has also speculated, that Litvinenko's death may be the result of his careless handling of polonium. "One of the core versions could be that Litvinenko carelessly handled polonium which he may have had. His real hatred for those in power in Russia then, for the intelligence service, for everything Russian should be taken into account." It should be noted that Andrei Lugovoi's ongoing extradition is being sought by the Crown Prosecution Service in connection with Litvinenko's poisoning.

Dmitry Kovtun said in an interview to Spiegel TV that his radioactive trail was due to his earlier meetings with Litvinenko in London 16–18 October 2006. Kovtun was under investigation by German detectives for suspected polonium smuggling into Germany in October. According to BBC, Litvinenko's bus ticket he used to get to 1 November meeting was not found radioactive.

Joseph Farah claimed at World Net Daily that MI6 had learned about Al Qaida offering millions of dollars to anyone that could supply them with polonium. Farah wrote that GCHQ intercepted a phone call in Peshawar implying that Al Qaida were actively seeking polonium.

Edward Jay Epstein, an American journalist, wrote in the New York Sun that Britain sent "embarrassingly thin substantiation" of its claims against Lugovoy. His hypothesis was that "Litvinenko came in contact with a Polonium-210 smuggling operation and was exposed to it".

Russia Today's editors wrote that Epstein said there was "no substantial evidence against Lugovoy".