Six members of Russian spy ring jailed for whole of 40 years | UK | News | EUROtoday

Six Bulgarians have been jailed after being convicted of spying for Russia on an industrial scale.

Ringleader Orlin Roussev, 47, who led the spy ring from a rundown guesthouse on the east coast of England, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months on Monday.

He had admitted his function alongside along with his second-in-command, Biser Dzhambazov, 44, who was jailed for 10 years and two months and Ivan Stoyanov, 33, who was handed 5 years and three weeks in jail.

Female “honeytrap” brokers Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, and aggressive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, had been discovered responsible on the Old Bailey in March of actions which police have mentioned put lives and nationwide safety in danger.

Mr Justice Hilliard jailed Ivanova, of Harrow, north-west London, for 9 years and eight months, saying she had “thrown in” her lot along with her accomplice Dzhambazov and grow to be an “enthusiastic” participant.

Gaberova, of Euston, north London, was jailed for six years, eight months and three weeks, having discovered spying for Russia to be “exciting and glamorous”, the choose mentioned.

Her ex-boyfriend Ivanchev, of Acton, west London, was sentenced to eight years in jail.

Earlier in mitigation for “naive” beautician Gaberova, Anthony Metzer KC mentioned her case was “tragic” as she would by no means have gotten concerned however for her infatuation with Dzhambazov, who had falsely claimed to have most cancers and be working for Interpol whereas retaining his relationship with accomplice Ivanova.

He informed the courtroom: “We say she was controlled, coerced into this conspiracy by Mr Dzhambazov.

“She fell in love with him and continued on her evidence to have feelings for him, not only on the date of her arrest but continued to have feelings for him even as she gave evidence, even though she was shocked, appalled and manipulated by him.”

In a televised sentencing, Mr Justice Hilliard recommended officers for his or her “extremely thorough and determined investigative work”.

He famous the defendants had been “motivated by money” and lived “very comfortably” on the substantial sums they had been paid.

Victims focused by the spyring had been left “deeply concerned” and been compelled to boost their safety, the choose mentioned.

He mentioned the danger to them was apparent and Roussev would have been conscious of the “extreme actions” Russia had taken in opposition to these it considered an “enemy” of the state.

Using the UK as a base to plan spy operations in opposition to the protection and pursuits of the nation was a “very serious offence”, Mr Justice Hilliard added.

The courtroom had heard that the spies had been directed by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian businessman needed by Interpol after the collapse of German cost processing agency Wirecard.

Marsalek acted as a go-between for Russian intelligence and Roussev, who led the operation from a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

When police moved to arrest the spies in February 2023, they discovered Dzhambazov bare in mattress along with his lover Gaberova in Euston, somewhat than at residence along with his accomplice Ivanova.

Police pieced collectively six operations relationship again to August 2020 from greater than 100,000 Telegram messages on Roussev’s cellphone by which he and Marsalek made mild of their harmful plans.

In the chat, Roussev was known as Jackie Chan, Dzhambazov glided by Mad Max and Jean-Claude Van Damme, and referred to his spies as The Minions.

The spy ring, which operated over a minimum of three years, is believed to have been one of many “largest and most complex” enemy operations to be uncovered on UK soil.

The community engaged in a sequence of surveillance and intelligence operations focusing on folks and locations of curiosity to the Russian state.

The defendants’ spy actions ranged between the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro.

They mentioned deploying “lashes queen” Gaberova as a honeytrap to snare a high-profile journalist, dropped 100 litres of pigs’ blood on the Kazakhstan embassy in London by drone, and kidnapped a person within the UK.

Spyware was recovered from the seaside lodge, described by Roussev in messages as his “Indiana Jones garage” – together with audiovisual spy units hidden inside a rock, males’s ties, a Coca-Cola bottle and a Minions cuddly toy.

Kit to make and take a look at counterfeit id paperwork was recovered from Roussev’s handle, with a stash of pretend passports additionally discovered on the one-bedroom flat in Harrow that Ivanova and Dzhambazov shared.

After his arrest, Roussev initially denied spying for Russia, telling police: “No James Bond activity on my end, I guarantee you.”

Mr Justice Hilliard made a confiscation order for Roussev to pay £180,768 in ill-gotten beneficial properties.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command, mentioned: “The investigation team worked incredibly hard to piece together a complex and wide-ranging conspiracy that I would describe as espionage on an industrial scale.

“The significant jail sentences handed to the group reflect the serious threat they posed to the safety and interests of the UK, as well as targets across Europe.

“This case is a clear example of the increasing amount of state threat casework we are dealing with in the UK. It also highlights a relatively new phenomenon whereby espionage is being ‘outsourced’ by certain states.

“Regardless of the form the threat takes, this investigation shows that we will take action to identify and disrupt any such activity that puts UK national security and the safety of the public at risk.”