Brazil Finds Stolen Radioactive Material After 4 Days
BRAZIL · CRIME
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest country by area and population, and São Paulo is its largest city and business capital.
- —What happened On Monday night, 5 October, São Paulo’s Civil Police found a stolen box of actinium-225, a radioactive cancer treatment, in a vacant lot.
- —The US link Brazil’s nuclear safety authority says the isotope’s US manufacturer confirmed the box matched the model it uses for shipments to Brazil.
- —The robbery Four men robbed the van on the Via Dutra highway on Thursday night, 1 October, and held the 58-year-old driver until the next day.
- —The risk The regulator says the shielded box was intact, showed no sign of tampering and poses a low radiological risk to the public.
- —Still open No one has been arrested, and police have not said whether the robbers knew what the van was carrying.
Police in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, have recovered stolen radioactive material four days after four men robbed the van carrying it. The actinium-225 package, a cancer treatment from a US manufacturer, turned up intact in a vacant lot on Monday night, 5 October.
Brazil’s National Nuclear Safety Authority (ANSN), the federal regulator for nuclear and radioactive material, said the risk to the public was low. The case began as a highway robbery, a crime against motorists that the US State Department warns about in its Brazil travel advisory.
How the Robbery on the Via Dutra Unfolded
The driver, a 58-year-old man, was on the Via Dutra highway in Greater São Paulo on Thursday night, 1 October. Four men told him something was wrong with his van, and when he stopped to check, they seized him, São Paulo’s state government said.
The robbers held him until Friday morning and left him near Avenida Marechal Tito, in the city’s east zone, Folha de S.Paulo reported. Two of the men travelled by car and two by motorcycle, the São Paulo daily said.
The van, a Citroën Jumpy, carried the international radiation symbol, the ANSN said in its first alert. Police found it partly stripped on Saturday, 3 October, in Ferraz de Vasconcelos, a town east of the city.
That search was led by the vehicle and cargo theft division of Deic, the state’s criminal investigations department. The box with the isotope was not in the van, the ANSN said in an update.
On Monday night, officers from the 55th Police District followed a tip-off to a vacant lot in Parque São Rafael. They found a blue box and called the ANSN, whose representative confirmed it was the stolen cargo, the state government said.
What Actinium-225 Is and Why the Box Mattered
Actinium-225 is a radioactive isotope used in nuclear medicine, mainly in targeted cancer therapies, the ANSN said. It gives off mostly alpha particles, which travel a very short distance and penetrate poorly.
It can be bound to molecules that recognise certain tumour cells, so the radiation is directed at its target. One studied use involves PSMA, a protein often found in large amounts on prostate cancer cells.
The stolen box held a small quantity meant for treatment by injection, according to the regulator. The state government valued the load at R$30,000 (about US$6,000), at about 5.02 reais to the US dollar on 6 October 2026.
The ANSN said the shielding was intact, with no sign of tampering and no evidence that radioactive material had escaped. It added that this “does not mean that radioactive materials can be handled freely.”
In its alerts on 2 and 3 October, the regulator urged anyone who found the box not to open or touch it. Opening it, the ANSN warned, could cause unjustified exposure to radiation.
The US Manufacturer and Brazil’s Nuclear Ties With Washington
To double-check the find, the ANSN contacted the isotope’s manufacturer in the United States, according to the regulator’s statement. The company recognised the box as compatible with the model it uses to ship the material to Brazil.
The regulator did not name the company. The ANSN is led by its director-president, Alessandro Facure.
On 16 September in Vienna, Facure signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington’s nuclear safety regulator. The deal covers unclassified technical information on regulating nuclear installations and radioactive materials.
It also provides for sharing operating experience and lessons from incidents. NRC chairman Ho Nieh said training the next generation of regulators was a promising area for cooperation with Brazil.
What It Means for You
For visitors and residents, the ANSN rates the radiation risk from this case as low, and the radioactive material has been recovered. The robbery itself is the more familiar danger.
The US State Department rates Brazil at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, in an advisory issued on 31 August 2026. It warns that “crimes include murder, armed robbery, and carjacking.”
Anyone who sees a box or vehicle marked with the radiation symbol should keep away and call the authorities, as the ANSN advised. On the road, be wary of strangers who signal a problem with your car, the trick used in this robbery.
A practical guide to safety in Brazil covers everyday precautions for visitors and residents. The case also shows that radioactive medicines travel by road, where they face the same robbery risk as any other cargo.
What Is Not Known
Police have not identified or arrested the four robbers, and the state government says the investigation continues. Officials have not said whether the gang knew the van carried radioactive material.
The ANSN has not named the hospital or patient waiting for the shipment, nor said whether the isotope can still be used. Its latest statement said the box remained in police custody and would undergo technical checks by the regulator.
In a statement on Tuesday, however, the state government said the 58-year-old victim had been contacted and had received the material back. Neither has explained how the box ended up in the vacant lot.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the stolen radioactive material in São Paulo dangerous?
Brazil’s nuclear safety authority, the ANSN, says the risk to the public is low. The amount of actinium-225 was small, its alpha radiation penetrates poorly, and the shielded box was found intact.
Where was the radioactive material found?
Police found the box on Monday night, 5 October, in a vacant lot on Rua Um do Cruzeiro, in São Paulo’s east zone. A tip-off led officers from the local 55th Police District to the site, in the São Rafael area.
What is actinium-225 used for?
It is used in nuclear medicine, mainly in targeted cancer therapies. It can be bound to molecules that seek out tumour cells, such as those carrying PSMA, a protein common on prostate cancer cells.
Has anyone been arrested for the robbery?
No arrests have been reported. The state government says Civil Police are still working to identify and arrest those behind the robbery of the van on Thursday, 1 October.
Is it safe for Americans to visit São Paulo?
The US State Department rates Brazil at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, citing violent crime in urban areas. The ANSN says this case poses a low radiological risk to the public.
Sources: Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Nuclear (ANSN): Material com Actínio-225 é localizado em São Paulo e estava intacto, 5 October 2026; Agência SP (São Paulo state government): Polícia Civil de São Paulo recupera carga de material radioativo roubado, 6 October 2026; ANSN: Veículo com material radioativo para uso médico é roubado em Guarulhos, 2 October 2026; ANSN: Embalagem com Actínio-225 não deve ser manipulada se for encontrada, 3 October 2026; ANSN: ANSN e NRC assinam acordo para ampliar cooperação em segurança nuclear, 16 September 2026; US Department of State: Brazil Travel Advisory, 31 August 2026; Folha de S.Paulo: Material radioativo roubado de van é achado em terreno baldio em São Paulo, 6 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief