Five suspected Russian spies will be charged with espionage in the U.K.
Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Vanya Gaberova are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court next Tuesday, according to reports.
The five Bulgarian nationals are accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023.
They allegedly worked for the Russian security services to surveil targets in the U.K. and the rest of Europe.
During a search of properties occupied by the defendants in London and Norfolk, police found fake passports and other phony IDs for the U.K., Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.
Investigators believe Roussev — the alleged leader of the spy ring — made the forgeries himself.
The spy ring was uncovered by the Counter Terrorism Command of London’s Metropolitan Police.
Police in the U.K. previously charged three suspected Russian military intelligence officers with an assassination attempt of a double agent and his daughter with the nerve agent Novichok.
The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich remains detained in Russia on espionage charges.
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