The theft of a radioactive device didn’t lead police to a nefarious plot, but rather to the counter of a pawn shop.

A special license is required to operate it, according to an information sheet by the American Portable Nuclear Gauge Association. The association notes that the device, in theory, could be used in making a “dirty bomb” that would dispense radiation into the air.

The device, known as a Troxler gauge, is used to measure soil density and is worth about $7,000, according to officials. It went missing from the trunk of a vehicle in front of a Douglas Street home around 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The trunk had been broken into, and chains securing the gauge had been cut, officials said.

The Bridgeport Police Department reached pawn shops across the city, and an alert worker at East Coast Pawn on Glenwood Avenue called around 4:15 p.m., saying he believed a man had just brought in the stolen nuclear density gauge.

A short time later, police arrested a man identified as Carlos Hernandez, 28, of Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, as he left the pawn shop. Hernandez was charged with larceny in the second degree and credit card fraud.

Combining resources

Pawn shop clients found a parking lot full of police vehicles and television news cameras. They were turned away as employees looked on while state radiation officials scanned the business.

After the gauge was reported missing — the vehicle itself was not stolen — State Police and the FBI joined in the investigation, according to Bridgeport Police Capt. Brian Fitzgerald.

Read More:CTPost

Featured Image – America Nuclear Portable Gauge Assosciation