The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) confirmed that two men and one woman were detained in February by counter-terrorism investigators from the Metropolitan Police in London. The Metropolitan Police in the UK has charged the three individuals with crimes related to identity documents following allegations by the BBC that they were spying for Russia.
Photo of British police (expressive image) Photo By: Al-Arabiya
According to the BBC report the three defendants, from Bulgaria, are believed to be working for Russian security agencies. They were arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation into national security.
London’s Metropolitan Police stated that five individuals were detained by officers from the Counter Terrorism Command in February, under the Official Secrets Act. Three of them have since been charged with possession of forged identity documents with malicious intent.
The police statement identified the three defendants as Orlin Rousseff (45 years old), Veselina Dzambazova (42 years old), and Katerina Ivanova (31 years old).
The three appeared in the Old Bailey court in London in July, where authorities decided to extend their detention to a later date. The police have declined to comment on whether they suspect the defendants of spying for Russia. The detainees have been charged with forgery of official documents, including passports and other identification cards for countries such as Bulgaria, Britain, Greece, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, France, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
It is worth noting that Rousseff lived in the city of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, eastern England, while Dzambazova and Ivanova resided together in the Harrow neighborhood in northwestern London. According to the BBC the Bulgarians had been living in the United Kingdom for several years and periodically changed their jobs.
