A group of six Bulgarians living in the UK have been convicted of being part of a spying operation across Europe on behalf of Russia (Picture: Met Police)
Six Bulgarians who spied for Russia in some of the ‘largest and most complex’ operations ever uncovered on UK soil have been jailed for a total of 50 years between them.
The network used code names from popular films,with the ringleader calling himself Jackie Chan and his sidekick Mad Max or Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Working for Putin’s military intelligence service,the GRU,their underlings were dubbed ‘Minions’ after the characters from animated franchise ‘Despicable Me’,who follow an evil mastermind named Gru.
‘Behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals,including journalists,’ Met counter terror boss Commander Dominic Murphy said.
‘This was industrial-scale espionage on behalf of Russia.’
Katrin Ivanova,33,and Vanya Gaberova,30,and competitive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev,39,were found guilty at the Old Bailey in March of spying on an ‘industrial scale’,putting lives and national security at risk.
Dzhambazov,who worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol police officer,was in a relationship with both the women — his laboratory assistant partner Ivanova and beautician Gaberova.
Ivanova had ‘thrown in’ her lot with him ‘for better or for worse’ and was ‘an enthusiastic participant’ in the plots,the court heard.
Gaberova,in turn,had ditched painter-decorator Ivanchev for Dzhambazov,who took her to Michelin-starred restaurants and stayed with her in a five-star hotel.
When police moved in to arrest the suspects in February 2023,they found Dzhambazov naked in bed with Gaberova rather than at home with Ivanova.
The exterior of a property in Great Yarmouth,Norfolk,where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev in 2023 (Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA)
Items found during the search of an address in Great Yarmouth,where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev (Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA)
Both women claimed during the trial that they had been deceived and manipulated by Dzhambazov.
Following the gang’s convictions,Cmdr Murphy said: ‘I have never seen anything like this in my more than 20 years in counter-terrorism. It was an extremely sophisticated operation.
‘Reading some of the messages and content on the devices you might be tempted to think this is not a serious threat,but behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals,including journalists.’
Investigators said lives could have been lost had the group not been arrested,recalling the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury.
Orlin Roussev,described as the chief of the spy cell,was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.
Biser Dzhambazov operated in one of the ‘largest and most complex’ Russian spy operations to be uncovered on UK soil (Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA)
Tihomir Ivanchev was also sentenced over the spy ring (Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA)
Bizer Dzhambazov was sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail,while Katrin Ivanova was sentenced to nine years and eight months.
Vanya Gaberova was sentenced to six years,eight months and three weeks’ imprisonment,Ivanchev was jailed for eight years,and Stoyanov for five years and three weeks.
The judge told all six defendants they must serve half their sentences in prison in the UK,after which they may be deported to Bulgaria.
Cmdr Murphy added: ‘My concern has always been what that lifestyle surveillance was going to lead to and we have seen a long history of the Russian state conducting operations here in the UK,including lethal threat operations like the investigation in Salisbury.’
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