THE inspector-general of police today dropped a bombshell as he said that the case of the missing radioactive dispersal device (RDD) was not the first time such a device had gone missing.

Mohamad Fuzi Harun said a similar device had gone missing last year, and had yet to be recovered.

“The same thing happened last year, when a similar device went missing. The device is still missing. Nobody has found it,” Fuzi said.

However, the top cop could not recall exactly when the incident happened.

“The details of the incident are not with me, so I can’t remember.”

Authorities are frantically looking for the 23kg RDD that went missing on August 10.

The device, an Industrial Radiography Equipment, contains the radioactive isotope iridium-192, which emits beta and gamma radiation as it decays during its estimated half-life of 73 days.

Fuzi said that the two technicians who were transporting the device were released on bail after their statement was recorded.

“We are investigating it. We remanded two men, who were released on bail after we took their statements.

“The duo said the device went missing by accident. The device was not properly locked when it was transported,” he said.

Police and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board share the same concerns of it falling into the hands of terrorists or militants, or those who treat it as metal to be dismantled and sold for a quick buck.

The RDD has a market value of RM75,000.

NST learnt that the Criminal Investigation Department did not find any sign that the tailgate had been pried open. – August 20, 2018.