A court in the former soviet republic of Moldova has sentenced three people for illegal trafficking of uranium, RIA Novosti reported citing the Kommersant.md website.

A Russian woman was jailed for three years, and her Moldovan accomplice received a sentence of five years. A third person was fined 15,000 leu ($1,200).

The trio was part of a gang of five detained by Moldovan police in a raid in June last year.

The group had been trying to sell about one kilogram of uranium-235 for $38 million. The radioactive material can be used to make nuclear weapons.

It was not known to what level the uranium was enriched.