It looks look a radio antenna. There is nothing special about the shiny object, 31 centimeters long and 0.6 millimeters in diameter, inserted within a flask-like container. But, out of the container, it poses a very real danger. A person in contact with the object will within weeks find his skin blistering and burning away. For the object in question contains deadly radioactive substances cobalt 60 and americium.

Two weeks ago, 20 of these de