German officer faces radioactivity charges

A German army captain was caught with a hoard of radioactive material and classified documents, along with a large hidden arsenal, prosecutors said yesterday.

The officer, who is in custody, had an unspecified quantity of strontium 90, a carcinogenic element, in his possession, the prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt said. He faces charges of unauthorised handling of radioactive material and violations of the military weapons control act. The cache, which was mostly former Eastern Bloc arms, was discovered in a raid this month.