A Russian spy ring in the UK has been blown up.
Three Bulgarians have been convicted of sharing information to Moscow for several years, the BBC reports.
The methods used by the trio are described as something one “is expected to see in a fictional novel”, according to a British police inspector.
They collected secret information that spread to Moscow. The Bulgarian trio Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, spied on Russia for several years and used, among other things, so -called “Honeytraps” and various types of love affairs. Now they have been convicted and risks imprisonment for 14 years, reports BBC.
The spy heritage is one of the largest in Britain’s history where the trio focused on journalists. They were sentenced by a British court and the trial has been going on for more than three months.
Directed at journalists
The British Prosecutor’s Office states that the Bulgarians spied on places and people “who were of interest to the Russian state”. One of the main goals for the spy cell was the Russian journalist Christo Grozev, who is known for his digs around the Russian espionage.
With a so -called “Honeytrap” they tried to seduce Grozev and get him kidnapped to Moscow, but it failed. Another journalist, novel Dobrokhotov, was also monitored. He thinks it is Putin who has given direct orders.
– I’m lucky to be alive, he says to BBC.
The methods retrieved from a novel
According to a British police inspector, the methods they used were “expected to see in a fictional novel”. They stated that they had ordinary jobs as healthcare professionals, interior designers and cosmetologists.
The spy cell was run by Bulgaren Orlin Roustev, 47. He was arrested by police in his home where Vanya Gaberova was also found in bed. In the home there were many spy equipment. Among other things, the police found glasses with built -in eavesdropping equipment and ties with cameras in. Hundreds of mobile phones and sim cards were also seized as well as several fake passes.
The penalty is expected to be announced in May, and they risk up to 14 years in prison. Vanja Gaberova and Katrin Ivanova have said during the trial that they performed spy assignments. But both of them thought it was for Interpol they worked.
“When I look back on it, I have been manipulated, exploited, exposed, everything,” Gaberova said according to The Guardian.