Date of arrest:November 27, 1993 Amount of material: 4.5 kilograms of uranium fuel rods (20% enrichment) According to the transcripts of the military court of the Russian Northern Fleet, two naval officers, Aleksei Tikhomirov and Oleg Baranov met in Murmansk around one a.m. and drove to the Sevmorput naval shipyard located on the Northern edge of the city. They were following a plot hatched with the help of Aleksei's younger brother, Dmitri, who was stationed at the base. Entering the yard through a hole in the fence, Tikhomirov made his way to a bunker located by the water's edge which contained fuel for nuclear submarines. Tikhomirov was able to saw through the padlock on the bunker with a hacksaw and pry open the door with a firehook. Inside the bunker, there were apparently hundreds of fuel rod assemblies. Tikhomirov stole three fuel rods, broke off the part containing the uranium fuel, and put the material in his bag. He left the bunker and returned to Baranov's car, forgetting to fasten the replacement padlock which he had brought to disguise his theft. Baranov took the fuel rods from Tikhomirov and hid them in his garage in the town of Polyarny, north of Murmansk. The ease with which the thieves were able to carry out their plan prompted Tikhomirov to subsequently remark to the military investigator on the case, "Even potatoes are guarded better." The theft was discovered around 2:00 p.m. the next day when a guard at the site noticed that the door to the bunker had been left open. Both the nuclear material and the culprits remained at large for several months, until Dmitri Tikhomirov, looking for help in selling the uranium, mentioned the theft to a fellow officer. The Tikhomirov brothers and Baranov were tried in military court for the theft of radioactive material and damage to naval property. Dmitri was acquitted, since he did not actively participate in the heist. The other two were sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Maps  ·  Timeline  ·  Interviews  ·  FAQS  ·  Links Readings  ·  Reactions  ·  Tapes and Transcripts Explore FRONTLINE web site copyright 1995-2008 WGBH educational foundation