Russian spy detained in Latvia
A citizen of Latvia has been detained on suspicion that he was collecting data about military objects and situations in the area adjacent to the Latvian-Russian border and passing it to the Russian special services, according to reports by LSM.lv Latvian news outlet.
No detailed information was revealed for legal reasons to preserve the secrecy of the investigation.
The Latvian Security Police that conducted the arrest elaborated on the statement saying that the Russian special services (FSB) have always possessed large operative-technical resources, and now, as before, they have been interested in receiving reconnaissance data, which could be provided only by a person who lives within close proximity to objects of interest and performs visual surveillance over these objects. That is why the Federation’s special services have been keen on recruiting Latvian citizens using various methods, mostly when they are visiting Russia.
The Latvian Security Police called on Latvians who had been approached by foreign special services while they were staying abroad to report those incidents to the LSP.
In addition, Minister of the Interior of Latvia, Rihards Kozlovskis, stated that there was a noticeable surge in the activity of foreign agents in Latvia in recent years on the backdrop of the overall tense security situation in the Baltic region. According to Kozlovskis, foreign special services have been attracted by the increase in the NATO’s contingent in Latvia.
As it was earlier reported, counter-reconnaissance officers of the Ukrainian Security Service detained a separatist in Odesa (southeast Ukraine) who arrived to perform a task at the direction of the FSB of Russia.