The police and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) are scrambling to search for a missing radioactive device, fearing that it could be used to make a dirty bomb if it falls into the wrong hands.

Authorities are also worried that the radiological dispersal device (RDD) could be dismantled for scrap metal and cause massive radiation exposure.

The New Straits Times reported that the device belongs to a private company and contains the radioactive isotope iridium-192, which emits beta and gamma radiation, and has an estimated half-life of 73 days.

There is no risk of radioactive exposure as long as the isotope remains in its lead-lined casing.

The RM75,000 device belongs to a private company that offers test, calibration and inspection services to heavy industries, including oil, gas and energy companies.

Citing sources, the report stated that the RDD was used by two of the company's technicians for a job in Seremban.

After completing their task, they reportedly loaded the 23kg device onto the back of their pickup truck and left for their office at Shah Alam at 2am.

The device was missing when they arrived an hour later.

The duo claimed they did not stop on their journey back, and feared that it could have fallen off their truck.

They alerted the AELB and Plus Expressways, with all three searching for the device on the stretch of the North-South Highway between the Senawang and Seafield tolls to no avail.

Investigators reportedly found no signs that the tailgate of the truck had been pried open, and that its locking mechanism was in good shape, making it impossible to unlock itself.

The two technicians were remanded by police, but were released after investigators found no criminal elements, including their possible involvement in terrorism or militancy.

The police and AELB are appealing to anyone who finds the missing device to contact them immediately and not to open the device.