Published: Less than 50 min ago
Updated: Just now
The married couple from Russia lived a quiet life in the villa suburb in the Stockholm area.
Now Säpo suspects that they spied for a foreign power for ten years.
This morning, National Task Force operators swooped down from Blackhawk helicopters and arrested the couple in a dawn raid.
The man and woman immigrated from Russia at the same time just before the turn of the millennium.
At first they lived in an apartment, but since a few years ago they live an orderly villa life in the Stockholm area.
– They are like anyone else, you cheer them on sometimes, says a neighbour.
Another neighbor says the couple keep to themselves:
– They are not so talkative, but nice. They smile and say hello, but not so social.
This morning the calm was shattered when two Blackhawk helicopters hovered over the block and National Task Force operators descended on the couple’s home.
– There were two helicopters flying here and then a lot of civilian police came, says a neighbor.
Worked with import and export
The security police suspect that the man has been spying for a foreign power for around ten years. The formal classification is gross intelligence activities against Sweden. He is also suspected of having spied on a third country with Sweden as a base, according to documents from the district court.
The wife is suspected of having acted as an accomplice during the period.
In the meantime, the couple has run a business in Sweden in the import and export business of, among other things, electronic components and industrial technology, with a turnover of upwards of 30 million per year.
According to information given to Aftonbladet, the man is suspected of having been able to use the companies as a base for the illegal intelligence activities he allegedly conducted, according to Säpo.
Strikes at the couple’s home
According to official documents, the man’s company has been under scrutiny in the past. In 2016, the Swedish Tax Agency received permission to raid the couple’s home in order to secure evidence in an investigation into tax crimes. In an investigation document from the Swedish Tax Agency, it was found that the companies have a complicated ownership structure that leads to tax havens abroad.
The investigation took place during the time period when Säpo suspects that the man was involved in espionage, but it is unclear whether Säpo was tipped off by the Swedish Tax Agency and the couple was already on the trail – or whether they were able to continue their activities.
The Säpo investigation reached its highest level on Tuesday when the government was informed.
“The Minister of Defense is informed,” says press secretary Johan Hjelmstrand in a text message to Aftonbladet.
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