News

A banknote with 1 905 times the radiation limit was found on a Ukrainian woman at the Polish border

Author:
Svitlana Kravchenko
Date:

Bieszczadzki Oddział Straży Granicznej

Border guards in Poland stopped a 54-year-old Ukrainian citizen who was carrying almost $10 000 in cash in her luggage. One of the bills contained 1,905 times the permissible level of radiation.

This was reported by the Polish Border Guard.

This happened on April 15 at the checkpoint in the village of Medyka. When the Ukrainian woman passed through the radiometric gate that measures radiation levels, a signal went off, reporting a significant excess of radiation.

Border guards checked the woman and found $9 900 in cash on her. One of the bills exceeded the permissible safe radiation level for humans by 1 905 times. The analysis showed the presence of an isotope used in treatment. The Border Guard placed the banknote in a special container and notified the State Atomic Agency.

The woman claimed that she was carrying the money to buy a car in Poland. She was denied entry to the country and returned to Ukraine along with the money.

Polish border guards said that a similar incident occurred in December 2025 — a Polish citizen wanted to import a significant amount of cash from Ukraine, after which he was found to have excessive levels of radiation. The man was also sent back to Ukraine.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.