Bahamian pilot Harold DeGregory Jr., who owns and operates H and G Import Export in West Palm Beach, Florida, was indicted earlier this week in a Miami Federal Magistrate Court on charges of conspiracy to transport and smuggle property containing Iridium-192.
DeGregory Jr., 58, of West Palm Beach, appeared in the Miami court after a Fort Lauderdale grand jury returned the eight-count indictment charge, according to a Miami Herald article yesterday.
If found guilty, DeGregory, who posted the $50,000 bond, will have to pay a $250,000 fine and face up to five years imprisonment.
The pilot is accused of allegedly transporting the radioactive material ﾗ Iridium-192 ﾗ to the local oil refining company, BORCO.
Maxwell Sweeting, BORCO executive, confirmed yesterday that BORCO uses H and G Import Export to transport cargo for the company.
“We heard news of the indictment this morning and we are getting further information regarding the incident,” said Mr. Sweeting. “However, we want to let the public know that BORCO has done nothing wrong. BORCO has not, at this particular incident nor anytime in the past, done anything illegally in terms of exporting this stuff to be recharged.”
Mr. Sweeting noted that keeping in mind that there is a court case pending, “we don’t want to be unfair to Mr. DeGregory in making a statement that would put him in more jeopardy.”
But, he added, a more detailed statement is forthcoming from BORCO.
Iridium-192 is a by-product of nuclear energy that normally looks like small silvery-white pellets. It is used to detect the location of certain cancers or to test pieces of metal to detect weaknesses.
According to The Herald’s article, the president of a Fort Lauderdale company, which owns two twin-engine aircraft, was not licenced or trained to handle or transport radioactive material.
Between July 28, 2003 and November 2, 2004, the company transported Iridium-192 to and from Grand Bahama for BORCO.
The oil company acquired Iridium-192 for industrial radiography from an American company that legally shipped it to H and G Import Export, which was then responsible for getting the material to the local company.
The indictment particulars further alleged that DeGregory on August 8, 2003 and February 5, 2004, transported a container, commonly referred to as a ”pig,” containing between 75 and 85 pounds of the radioactive material each time.
DeGregory was caught on November 2, 2004 when he failed to disclose a 42-pound container on a Customs declaration form. Inspectors found the container “secreted in a wing compartment of his aircraft,” said The Herald’s article.
Since the September 9/11 attacks, U. S. law enforcement and government officials are playing closer attention to such materials because of warnings that they could be used in terrorist attacks.
Iridium-192 is considered a high security risk isotope, according to the website for the Center for Nonprolifer-ation Studies at the Monterey Institute for International Studies in California.
Although Iridium-192 has legitimate industrial uses, it can pose public health risks if not properly handled.
By BARBARA WALKIN, Senior Freeport News Reporter
