LONDON, Oct 1 (AFP) - Three men were charged Friday under Britain's main anti-terrorist law, police said, in the wake of a sting operation involving a gang that was allegedly looking to buy material for a radioactive "dirty bomb".
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said the three men -- Roque Flaviano Fernandes, 43, Dominic Agnelo Martins, 44, and Abdurahman Ranyare -- would appear in a London court on Saturday.
"All are charged under section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000 that they entered into, or became concerned in, an arrangement as a result of which money or other property was made available, or was to be made available to another, and knew or had reasonable cause to suspect, that it will or may be used for the purposes of terrorism," the police said.
The three were arrested last Friday, two days before the News of the World newspaper reported that it had infiltrated a gang that was looking to buy a kilogram of "red mercury" -- a Soviet-era material which it said could be used to make a handheld radioactive bomb.
Its reporter was told that the material was being sought by an unidentified Saudi, "for use here in the United Kingdom or in the United States", who was ready to pay 300,000 pounds (441,500 euros, 541,000 dollars) for it.
A fourth man was also arrested, but released Thursday without charge.
Peter Clarke, the senior detective who heads the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch, said in Friday's statement that the charges were laid after consultation with prosecutors.
"We are grateful to the News of the World newspaper for contacting us with the information that started this investigation," he said.