Japanese police arrested three suspects, including a 17-year-old boy, who committed the purchase of small quantities of poor uranium online.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has accused the 24-year-old man of Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, of selling small amounts of poor uranium and natural uranium in glass tubes on Yahoo's online auction site.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy in Koganei, Tokyo, and a 61-year-old pharmacist in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, are accused of buying the chemical.

The identities of the three suspects were not disclosed. All three acknowledged the behavior, saying they traded uranium because of a passion for chemicals and no intention of using the material for illegal purposes. The uranium seller told police that he bought the chemicals through a foreign website.

Japanese law prohibits people from trading in nuclear fuel materials such as uranium, except for approved organizations and businesses.

Police from last year launched an investigation into the sale of a substance described as "99.9% uranium" on online auction site Yahoo.