Though the origin and the destination of the material is not known it is believed to have originated from the Russian nuclear weapons laboratory Arzamas-16. On August 8 they arrest a German real estate dealer and five men from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The material may have come from a naval or research reactor. The Bavarian Police seize a suitcase from a Lufthansa flight originating in Moscow. This makes it the largest seizure of weapons grade material in the West.
Circumstantial evidence places the fissile material as Russian in origin.
After further investigation German authorities contend that German intelligence entrapped the smugglers. All three had backgrounds in the nuclear industry. The fissile material is believed to be from the same origin as those found in Germany.