BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian arrested in an attempted sale of uranium were peddling material believed to be from the former Soviet Union, and it was enriched enough to be used in a radiological "dirty bomb," police said Thursday.
The three, who were arrested Wednesday in eastern Slovakia and Hungary, were trying to sell about a pound of uranium in powder form, said First Police Vice President Michal Kopcik.
"It was possible to use it in various ways for terrorist attacks," Kopcik said.
Investigators were still working to determine who ultimately was trying to buy the uranium, which the three allegedly was selling for $1 million.
He said police had intelligence suggesting that the suspects — whose names were not released — originally had planned to close the deal sometime between Monday and Wednesday. Police moved in when the sale did not occur as expected, he said.
One of the Hungarians had been living in Ukraine.
Kopcik said three other suspects — including a Slovak national identified only as
Eugen K. 
— were detained in the neighboring Czech Republic in mid-October for allegedly trying to sell fake radioactive materials. It was unclear to what degree, if any, they played a role in the thwarted uranium sale.