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An Australian man is accused of breaking his country’s nuclear non-proliferation laws for ordering a sample of plutonium online in order to collect all the elements in the periodic table.
In August of 2023, 24-year-old Emmanuel Lidden was arrested at his parents’ house in Sidney, Australia, during a major operation that involved Australian Border Force officials, firefighters, police, and paramedics.
He pleaded guilty to breaking Australia’s nuclear non-proliferation laws by shipping plutonium into the country, a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
His lawyer argues that Lidden is not some maniac or mad scientist but rather a “science nerd” who had made it his goal to collect all the elements in the periodic table, even radioactive ones.
“He did not import or possess these items with any sinister purpose. These were offenses committed out of pure innocence,” lawyer John Sutton told Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court recently.
“It was a demonstration of the desire to make a collection. It could have been anything, but in this case he decided on a collection of the periodic table.”
Lidden is already an avid collector who owns an impressive number of stamps, banknotes, and coins.
But prosecutors disagree that he is just a misguided, harmless collector. They claim that by seeking illegal materials like plutonium, he has created a market that might otherwise not have existed in Australia.
According to court documents, the 24-year-old man ordered the tiny plutonium sample from a US-based science website and had it delivered to his parents’ home.
His lawyer claims that the package had his name and address on the box, which suggests that he had no intention of using the material to do any harm.
Authorities knew exactly what was in the box and who had ordered it, but, instead of seizing the package and asking Lidden for an explanation, they allowed the plutonium to be shipped to the address on the box and then organized a major raid to have Sutton’s client arrested.
“The level of the response was a massive over-reaction, given what the investigators already knew,” Sutton said. “Rather than give him an opportunity to return the items, the kitchen sink was thrown at him, along with the all the utensils inside it.”
Since being charged for bringing plutonium into Australia, Emmanuel Lidden has been fired from his job as trainee train conductor and is currently earning a living flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant.
But things could get even worse for him, since the charges against him carry a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars. His sentence is coming from Judge Leonie Flannery in April.
Hey, Emmanuel. Next time, just collect butterflies!
SOURCE: odditycentral.com
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