ANKARA -- Turkish Paramilitary Police have seized more than 15kg (33 pounds) of weapons-grade uranium and detained two men accused of smuggling the material, the state-run Anatolian News Agency said on Saturday.

Officers in the southern Province of Sanliurfa, which borders Syria and is about 250km (155 miles) from the Iraqi border, were acting on a tip-off when they stopped a taxi cab and discovered the uranium in a lead container hidden beneath the vehicle's sea t, the agency said.

Authorities believe the uranium came from an East European country and has a value of about $5 million, Anatolian said.

It was not immediately clear when the operation was carried out. Anatolian only gave the first names of the suspects, which appeared to be Turkish.

Police in Turkey seized more than one kilogram of weapons-grade uranium last November that had been smuggled into Turkey from an East European nation, Reuters reported.