‘Russian spies nabbed in Britain’
LONDON – Britain has arrested three Bulgarians on suspicion of spying for Russia. The arrest of the trio, two men and a woman, was back in February and has now been announced by the BBC. The trial of the alleged spies will begin January next year.
The Bulgarians had been living in Britain for a long time. The woman and one of the men are said to be a couple. The two’s home was allegedly searched extensively by police recently, neighbors told the BBC. Officers reportedly spent more than a week on this search.
The Bulgarians allegedly work for Russian security services. Among other things, they are suspected of possessing identity documents they knew were fake. These allegedly included Spanish, Greek, Italian, French and British ID cards and passports.
They are three Bulgarians, two men aged 41 and 45 and a woman aged 31. They were arrested back in February, but the case had not yet come out. The three have been in remand ever since.
The United Kingdom believes they were working for Russian security services. Among other things, they are accused of having identity documents for “improper purposes.” They allegedly had these documents while knowing they were fake.
According to the BBC, the documents include passports, ID cards and other identity papers for the UK. Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.
Long time in UK
The three have lived in the UK for many years and held several jobs. One suspect allegedly has a business history in Russia. He moved to the UK in 2009 and has worked in financial services, among other things. His LinkedIn page states that he owned an intelligence services company. He also allegedly acted as a consultant to the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy.
The other man and the woman were allegedly a couple, according to former neighbors. They allegedly moved to the UK 10 years ago. Among other things, they reportedly ran a social organization that helped Bulgarians “familiarize themselves with the culture and norms of British society.”
Local residents tell the BBC that police conducted an extensive search of their last home. That reportedly took more than a week.