Legal first: Emmanuel Lidden facing jail for plutonium import

When science fan Emmanuel Lidden wanted to build a real life table of elements he didn’t realise he would be at the centre of a nuclear emergency and facing jail in an Australian legal first.

A 24-year-old science enthusiast is facing 10 years in jailafter a raid at his parent’s Arncliffe home by police in full-body hazmat suits allegedly discovered nuclear material . Picture: ONSCENE..

Exclusive: A fast food worker is set to become the first Australian sentenced for importing nuclear material after he bought plutonium on the internet and had it posted to his parents’ home.

Emmanuel Steven Lidden is not a disaffected militant looking to wipe out a large section of the population with a plutonium-powered bomb.

He’s a 24-year-old science enthusiast – think Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory –- who lives with his parents in their southern Sydney apartment.

But he is facing 10 years in jail over his attempt to build a real-life periodic table of elements, which included samples of plutonium and spent uranium.

Bought from a US science collectables website, the samples were sealed in decorative vials or polymer cubes.

Officers in full-body hazmat suits at the scene of a raid on an Arncliffe apartment where nuclear material was allegedly discovered. Picture: ONSCENE..

Lidden kept them on his bedhead next to his coin collection and fantasy novels.

In August 2023, they landed him at the centre of a major nuclear response.

Officers in full-body hazmat suits raided his parents’ Arncliffe unit, blocked off their street, detained his family and evacuated their neighbours.

Scientists later found the samples were harmless. But Lidden was charged with importing nuclear material into Australia and possessing nuclear material without permission.

He has pleaded guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and will be sentenced in March – a first since the laws were created in 1987.

When contacted, Lidden’s lawyer John Sutton questioned whether people like Lidden were the intended targets of the legislation.

Authorities at the scene of a raid on an Arncliffe apartment where nuclear material, which included samples of plutonium and spent uranium, was allegedly discovered. Picture: ONSCENE.

“These laws were created to protect society from terrorists and people who intend to cause mass destruction, not naive young science fans,” Mr Sutton said.

Asked why it was pursuing Lidden, a spokesman for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said it “conducts all prosecutions in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth”.

Lidden purchased the nuclear collectables from Luciteria Science, a US-based website that says on its homepage: “Collecting elements is a fun way to learn about chemistry”.

According to court documents, Lidden made 10 orders from May 2022, which were all delivered. He made no attempt to disguise the orders, using his name, phone number and parents’ address.

Emergency workers in protective clothing at the scene of a raid on an Arncliffe apartment where ‘nuclear collectables’, purchased from the US-based website Luciteria Science, were allegedly found. Picture: ONSCENE.

The investigation was sparked in June 2023 after his 11th order.

Australian Border Force blocked United Postal Service from delivering the order, which contained a sample of mercury and thorium, because it posed a potential radiation threat.

However, UPS mistakenly delivered the shipment to Lidden, court documents said.

A panicked UPS employee contacted Lidden and asked for it to be returned.

“(Lidden) replied he was happy to return it if UPS would come and collect it,” the documents said. “He also asked … how it was delivered if it was prohibited in Australia.

“UPS explained they made an error in releasing it,” the documents said.

Lidden and his family were rushed to hospital where they were cleared of radiation poisoning. Fire and Rescue NSW conducted a “safety sweep” before determining the “emanations of the radiation were at a level safe for human occupancy”, the documents said.

The investigators used a “gamma-ray spectroscopy” to scan the cubes for plutonium or other radioactive material.

Levels of “uranium and mercury” were detected in Lidden’s bedroom. But investigators determined that Lidden’s table of elements was “safe to be seized”, the documents said.

Lidden showed them invoices and packing slips for his ten earlier purchases.

The material was sent to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation where tests confirmed positive results for plutonium, depleted uranium and other substances.

Plutonium sales have now been “discontinued” on the US science collectables website.

Lidden will be sentenced on March 21.